The 1981 Corvette was visually identical to the previous model, with the exception of minor changes to the emblems. The new Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky opened its doors in June 1981. The old St. Louis plant built its last Corvette on August 1st. Therefore, for about two months, Corvettes were built at both facilities. There were no optional Corvette engines in 1981.

1981 Corvette Options

RPO#	DESCRIPTION	QUANTITY	$ RETAIL
1YY87	Base Corvette Sport Coupe	40,606	16,258
AU3	Power Door Locks	36,322	145
A42	Power Driver Seat	29,200	183
CC1	Removable Glass Roof Panels	29,095	414
C49	Rear Window Defogger	36,893	119
DG7	Electric Sport Mirrors	13,567	117
D84	Two Tone Paint (coupe)	5,352	399
FE7	Gymkhana Suspension	7,803	57
F51	Heavy Duty Shock Absorbers	1,128	37
G92	Performance Axle Ratio	2,400	20
K35	Cruise Control	32,522	155
MM4	4-Speed Manual Transmission	5,757	0
N90	Aluminum Wheels	36,485	428
QGR	White Letter SBR P225/70R15 Tires	21,939	72
QXH	White Letter SBR P255/60R15 Tires	18,004	492
UL5	Radio Delete	315	-118
UM4	AM-FM Stereo with 8-Track	8,262	386
UM5	AM-FM Stereo with 8-Track/CB	792	712
UM6	AM-FM Stereo with Cassette	22,892	423
UN5	AM-FM Stereo with Cassette/CB	2,349	750
U58	AM-FM Stereo Radio	5,145	95
U75	Power Antenna	32,903	55
V54	Roof Panel Carrier	3,303	135
YF5	California Emission Certification	4,951	46
ZN1	Trailer Package	916	110

1981 Corvette Exterior Color Choices

CODE	EXTERIOR	QUANTITY
06	Mahogany Metallic	1,092
10	White	6,387
13	Silver Metallic	2,590
19	Black	4,712
24	Bright Blue Metallic	1
28	Dark Blue Metallic	2,522
52	Yellow	1,031
59	Beige	3,842
75	Red	4,310
79	Maroon Metallic	1,618
84	Charcoal Metallic	3,485
33/38	Silver/Dark Blue	n/a
33/39	Silver/Charcoal	n/a
50/74	Beige/Dark Bronze	n/a
80/98	Autumn Red/Dark Claret	n/a

1981 Corvette Interior Color Choices

CODE	COLOR
152	Silver Gray Leather
19C	Charcoal Cloth
192	Charcoal Leather
29C	Dark Blue Cloth
292	Dark Blue Leather
64C	Camel Cloth
642	Camel Leather
67C	Dark Red Cloth
672	Dark Red Leather
752	Medium Red Leather