What was to become one of the true classic cars in America was introduced in 1953. The idea of the Corvette was conceived by Harley Earl, an executive with General Motors who could see the demand for small roadsters building after observing GIs coming home from Europe with MGs and Jaguars in tow.
The 1953 Corvette was designed and built around the 102in wheelbase and patterned after the Jaguar x-120, one of Harley Earl's favorite cars.
The first Corvettes were virtually hand-built with fiberglass bodies, 300 hp engines and were very sleek with their Polo White paint, black canvas tops and red leather interiors. There were 300 Corvettes built in 1953 and collectors have preserved about 200 of that original model.
In 1955 General Motors produced their first V-8 engine since 1919 and in that same year Zora Arkus-Duntov, a former European auto racer, employed as an engineer on the Corvette team since 1953, installed that 195hp V-8 engine and a better handling package into the former models and the Corvette was on it's way to becoming a sports car to be reckoned with. It quickly found it's way into the hearts of the American car lover. Corvettes styled in this manner comprised the first generation of Corvettes from 1953 to 1962
In 1963 Chevrolet introduced the Corvette Sting Ray, considered by Automobile Magazine to be of the "Most Beautiful Cars" in the 1960s. When they equipped the 1966 Sting Ray with the 427 engine, chevrolet didn't know that they had created what would be the "most collected Corvette" ever. And in 1967 the L-88 version of the 427 engine was place in just 20 of 22,940 Corvettes produced that year, it had a base price of $4,240 and today will get half a million or more at an auction such as Barrett-Jackson.
Through the generations of Corvettes there have been different designs, stronger frames, different suspensions and bigger and bigger engines. The 2009 Corvette will offer a whopping 638hp for the biggest engine to date and will be a shorter and wider body type.
Today, the most popular Corvette colors are #1 Red, followed closely by Yellow and Black Corvettes. Be sure to keep your eyes open to spot these new beauties flashing by.
There have been over one million corvettes produced since 1953 and approximately 1/2 of those are sill on the road today. What a car!
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