Anyone with a passion for cars can recognize their own, and when we met Billy and saw his mint 1990 Chevrolet Beretta Indy Pace Car, we knew we had to share his story.
With just over 36,000 miles on the clock, this Chevy looks like it’s in the same condition as the day it left the factory. “Maybe better,” Billy writes, “as the paint swirls are gone from the person who cleaned it for delivery.”
Billy also owns a 1991 Chevrolet Corvette with rare Charcoal Metallic paint and a gray interior, but it’s the Chevrolet Beretta that truly gets his heart racing. Billy has owned more than 40 Berettas over the course of his life, not counting parts cars, and this particular 1990 Indy edition stands out as the finest of them all.
Billy’s passion for the Chevrolet Beretta began in high school with an article on a 1987 GT model that he read in study hall. His mom and dad wanted one too, and they eventually ordered one in red with Z24 five-spoke wheels. After seeing it in person, he knew had to have one for his own.
“I loved everything about the Beretta,” Billy writes. “My parents actually had one of the first in our rural area, so when my buddies and I went cruising we had to take it as it got a lot of attention from the females. The exhaust note, the aerodynamic body style, the cool instrument cluster that actually had a speedometer that registered 120 mph. It’s just a cool car that still looks good in today’s world of silver blobs.”
Billy lusted after a special edition Indy model that sat in the local showroom draped in Turquoise Metallic. Unfortunately, that particular model was a bit out of reach for young Billy, but he continued to work towards owning a Chevrolet Beretta all the same, making pallets at his uncle’s sawmill after school.
Finally, Billy managed to buy his first Chevrolet Beretta – a 1990 base model in Malachite Green with a black interior and 3.1L engine.
Fast forward to today, after dozens and dozens of Berettas have come and gone, and Billy now has his mint condition Chevrolet Beretta Indy in Turquoise Metallic.
Billy says he’s searched for a showroom condition Chevrolet Beretta Indy for more than two decades, and found this particular example last summer in Kentucky via Facebook. The seller waffled a bit on giving it up, but after a few months, Billy received a call with an unbeatable offer. The original owners knew about Billy’s passion, and wanted their pristine 1990 to go to a good home.
After making the journey to pick the car up, Billy was nervous, knowing full well that pictures can be deceiving. However, after seeing this 1990 Chevrolet Beretta in person, he knew he had made the right choice in pursuing it. The car was bought new, driven for a year and stored. It had never even had water on it.
Beyond the mint condition, this particular model is also noteworthy for its analog gauge cluster. We asked about it, and Billy says that although most Indy Berettas had digital cluster, the analog cluster was also available.
The only modification made was the addition of a new Pioneer head unit, given the factory Delco Beretta radio tends to burn out the right channel. “It’s fixable, but I’m a body guy,” Billy writes.
This 1990 Chevrolet Beretta Indy Pace Car is utterly pristine, and Billy wants to keep it that way, rarely driving it. He shares his passion with others online via the enthusiasts website Beretta Net, and looking ahead, he hopes to continue to restore other examples of his favorite automobile – an activity, he notes, that would be much easier if GM offered restoration parts.
Indeed, Billy’s passion is undeniable. “My old friends used to say I’ve owned every Beretta in Belmont County, or a part off of one, and they were probably right.”
“I check Facebook every day,” Billy writes. “The peeps on Beretta Net, we try to save as many as we can.”
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Comments
Shame this type of car doesn’t exist at Chevy right now. Cheap, sporty and fun car.
As a kid in junior high in the 80’s I thought this was the coolest car in the world. It was right there with the IROC-Z and 5.0 GT Mustang. I wasn’t into cars, car companies or brands and divisions at the time. A Beretta could have been a Bentley for all I knew or cared. I just knew what I liked visually. I remember walking out of class and in the back parking lot was a brand new gloss black one that a teacher had just bought. I knew when I got my drivers license and a job, I wanted that exact car. Never did get one once that all happened though.
Of course, once I got to high school it all changed. I wanted one of those new ‘Like A Rock’ Chevy trucks. A 454SS (whatever that was) or one of those Z71 short beds. I also saw my first ZR1 Corvette in a showroom and I decided I wanted that too! Never got those either. But it all started with a Beretta. Aside from when the C5 Corvette came out and the new C8, there hasn’t been a single vehicle since that time period that’s really stirred my soul like those. Perhaps the initial launch of the 2010 Camaro with the big round muscle car headlights before they got squinty or the Dodge Challenger (that one still looks good). Both of those have the 60’s muscle car ‘mean’ look to them that I like. For the most part though, I’ve had to go backwards in time now to find things I really can get passionate about. The new cars have no soul and the Chevy trucks in particular are so busy and transformer looking now I just can’t get into them. The best Chevrolet’s were always clean,mean and classy…
I owned a all black GTZ with the quad 4 and a 5 spd. That car would surprise a lot of V8’s from that era. 1990.
I had an all black GTZ with a five speed as well. Same year also. That quad 4 just screamed once you got above 3000 rpms with lots of torque steer. And it easily averaged 30 mpg on a tank. Good handling car too with that solid beam setup. Independant rear suspension and rear disk brakes were for luxury cars and some foreign cars. Neither of which the Beretta had of course. The interior didn’t hold up well. Door panels were nearly made of cardboard. We’ve come a long way.
The Camaro pretty much replaces all Chevy coupes outside Corvette, I’d doubt you’ll see a Monte Carlo size coupe ever again from GM, the Camaro will have to be more roomy and practical for passengers next time.
This is a perfect example of just how bad and ugly things were 30 years ago.. I can’t wait to see the C8 Corvette be the official INDY 500 pace car then it’ll be proper as all the cars will feature a mid-engine layout and hopefully it’ll be a Chevy powered car that wins.
What great memories this article provides. 90 Beretta GT was my first new car right out of university and it was great. 240,000 miles in 7 years without a failure and only routine maintenance. Nothing ever went wrong with it. Great car.
Actually today is a perfect example why you see so few younger “gearheads” into Chevrolet or GM products in general. There is no car a kid sitting in a study hall today that they will see in a magazine and possibly own when they get a job and graduate. I graduated in 1991 and saved up a huge down payment to buy the ’90 base and worked my butt off. It was a leftover and I financed that car for 11k. You could buy a base Cavalier coupe or S-10 for under 9 grand. I know times have changed but most kids working out of high school can’t afford a Camaro or Colorado.
The poster above named Matt hit the nail on the head. The Beretta started it all for me. I honestly cannot sit here and count 5 cars right now without spending 60k that I would actually buy. This whole Transformer theme Chevrolet has going on right now just doesn’t do it for me. Back then you could tell the difference between a Beretta and a Cavalier and Lumina. Today they all look the same, no character.
Yes sir, I agree. I am about the same age and I bought a base ’92 S-10. It was barebones but I made it my own with a set of Cragars and a graphic down the side. I paid just shy of 10 grand for that truck. I went to look at a new Silverado but the front ends are hideous. They look to me like they were just not completed in the front. You have the black grille that looks just like a black rear grille panel without the grille. I sure do miss those days of cars like the Beretta. This new stuff just doesn’t do it for me. I do not even like the Camaro. They do look like a Transformer. I hated those kinds of toys as a kid, no wonder I dislike the new Chevrolet’s so much. Very nice Beretta Indy, BTW. Jay Leno was actually talking about your car. He seen it on Car & Coffee on Youtube or something. That is pretty cool, didnt know if you knew that or not. What kind of wax do you use too? The paint on that Indy is beautiful.
Hi Al,
I only use Collinite Products and always have. My grandfather owned an old Sinclair station way before I was born but is all he carried. Way after he sold it he would go back to his old station and ordered a can of Collinite. I can remember going with him getting it and holding the can. I was fascinated with cars from my earliest memories but yes sir, I only use Collinite Products. They are just a small business and I like supporting those guys and even better yet; the products are great!
Beautiful car! Always loved the Indy edition.
Bought my first new car at age 17 – a 90 Beretta GT…couldn’t quite afford the Indy. Traded it in on a 96 Z-26 because I was tired of dealing with the cheap door panels that the 88-90s had.
Still have my 96 – just turned 27K miles.
Coupes have always won me over and the Beretta was unlike any other. Beautiful just to look at.
The Beretta hit the market right around when I was graduating from High School in ’87. I wanted one – in that deep burgundy color with matching wheels – badly and was so smitten with the Beretta that it made me go to the NY Auto Show almost every year it was in production. It just looked like nothing else on the road in a good way. I would compare it against the Ford Probe but its exterior design alone was winner hands down. It ended production and I never got one. 😞😞😞 Wow, what memories.
When Dodge came out with the Avenger Coupe, it reminded me a bit of the Beretta. Never got the Dodge.
I went to test drive a brand new 2006 Pontiac GTO, almost bought it but it was too impractical for my needs.
Fast forward and the only vehicles from GM per se that I’d consider would be a low mileage 2017 Chevy SS sedan, 2019 ATS-V Coupe/Sedan or 2019 CTS-V sedan.
The car looks like a giant breath mint.
These were good solid cars for GM. They held up well and kept running for a long time. I still see a few today. But I see few Honda or Toyota’s of the same era.
My buddy had a GTZ. I drove it often. It was fast for the time and handled well. When I had a HHR SS it was built on a similar platform with a better tuned suspension and 300 hp. I often thought had the GTZ had this set up it would have been a killer car.
The pace car this year was a mess. It was to be sold as a convertible but that car never worked out as it had too much flex. The real one was an open top and was yellow not this green. You would have thought they would get the color right with the track car. But the 86 Vette pace car was just any convertible no matter the color.
Those painted valve covers look rad and the little details, like the green on the seat 👌
I remember my mom traded in her 1972 chevelle (malibu) for a metallic blue beretta. It was stunning.
I remember guys wanting this car because it shared its name with a gun.
And I remember Beretta suing GM over the name.
Can’t blame GM for using it, it was a good name.
Thanks for nice comments about my car, appreciate it!
GM killed the Beretta because “people don’t want coupes”. That was BS – in the early 90s it seemed every other car on the road was a Beretta. Now there say “no one wants a rear drive sedan” and goodbye SS. I believe the could have kept the Cruze in production if they’d bother to put a decent engine in it.
I sold this car during Covid sadly and I kicked myself everyday since. Yesterday, I bought another Turquoise Indy. It has 112k but it has been well cared for over the years. It is lowered a half of spring and I’m not a huge fan of lowering a vehicle, these set low enough to ground from factory imo. It really just needs a good paint correction to look great. It’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest for selling this car. Thanks for all the nice comments and to the 1 or 2 negative comments, I’d gladly take a Beretta, C4 or 5 Vette over the ridiculous looking new Vette. But to each their own👍