Dark Blue Metallic 35
Cosworth Colors
Long, long ago in a land far, far away, all Cosworth Vegas were silver. That was 1973 and St. Therese, Quebec. Wiser heads prevailed, some say. Jerry Palmer re-thought the Cosworth Vega package, from silver with black stripes, to black with gold stripes, gold fender and tail panel logos, and gold cast aluminum wheels. (Only the Cosworth in the Vega line could be ordered in black in 1975.) Jerry designed the gold striping and lettering to complement and accentuate the lustrous acrylic lacquer of his black car.
In a marketing decision made in early CY 1976, Chevrolet decided to offer Cosworth Vegas in other colors; sales in the South and West had languished as owners baked without air conditioning. Hoping to boost sales, colors became available in the middle of the 1976 model year. Though standard Vegas were available in 14 colors, Cosworths could be ordered only in eight, plus black (which "experts" argue is not a color). Also, sometime in 76 standard Vegas could be ordered in black.
Production Statistics: Of the total 3508 cars produced, we have accounted for
Model Year: 1975 The Total Number produced was 2,061. Color: Black Only
Model Year: 1976 The Total Number produced was 1447. In addition to Black, eight colors were available:
Dark Blue Metallic, Buckskin, Firethorn Metallic, Dark Green Metallic, Mahogany Metallic,
Medium Orange, Mediaum Saddle Metallic, and Antique White
The Total non-Black Cars Produced Was 637
Currently, the number of non-black Cosworths in the CVOA Registry is as follows:
72.3% or 2537 Cosworths.
Blue(31)
mahogany(nnn)
buckskin(nnn)
orange(nnn)
firethorn(nnn)
saddle(nnn)
green(nnn)
white(nnn)
Total Non-Black Registered: nnnn
Antique White (body tag code 11)
Dark Green Metalic (body tag code 49)
Firethorn Metalic (body tag code 36)
Dark Blue Metalic (body tag code 35)
Medium Saddle Metalic (body tag code 67)
Medium Orange (body tag code 78)
Maghogany Metalic (body tag code 37)
Buckskin (body tag code 65)
Chevrolet chose not to invest immediately in new decals to match these additional colors for the Cosworth. Instead they used the stock on hand that had been intended solely for use on a black car (as evidenced by the black within the logo lettering that was largely "invisible" on the black Cosworths). As might have been predicted, the stripes often do not "show up" as well on some of the colors, and the black in the logos tends to look a bit out of place as well. Late in the production run, however, logo lettering without the black background became available and made it to a few rare Cosworths; these "clear background" logos and were also available at the parts counter.Cosworths also came with a variety of interior options. These included seat materials and colors. Dashes and kick panels were factory determined colors, as was carpet.