Since the first sketches of the Project Opel car in 1953, people worldwide have been dreaming in Corvette style. A simple trip to your Houston Chevy Dealer, in person or via the internet, will fuel the fire keeping your Corvette dreams alive.
What Makes the Corvette So Covetable?
The interest in the American sports car began in the ’50s when Thomas Keating ordered a car to be designed for General Motors. At that time, British sports cars were all the rage, so the fiberglass body of the new American Sportster was fashioned to resemble the British cars.
That first car was introduced at the General Motors 1953 Motorama. The debut was not as fabulous as GM had hoped, but the people showed enough interest to put the prototype into production. The first production run of this future dream machine created three hundred road-ready carriages.
Sad Beginnings
The new Corvette was an eye-catching Polo White with a bright red interior. The motorcar was put into production from the Flint, Michigan plant. However, it had a glaring weakness – the original Chevy Blue Flame Six engine. This 3.9L inline-six may have been similar to what was found in the British roadsters of the day, but its 150 horsepower output was far from a driver’s dream. Out of the original 300 vehicles produced, only 183 of them were sold.
More Power – More Attention
Chevrolet was not happy with the poor sales of their little sports car, so in 1955 they decided to toss the straight-six engines and force a big 4.3-liter V-8 in its place. That V-8 had a whopping 195 horsepower, and to make sure the car could do everything it should, the automatic 2-speed transmission was traded for a manual 3-speed gearbox.
That powertrain upgrade was the right decision to make, and sports car lovers took notice of the American two-seater. However, Chevy was not finished making improvements. The following year they upgraded the front end, and they changed the side panels out for scalloped sides that increased the sporty look.
Also, the designers kept the V-8, but they changed the camshaft to increase the horsepower from 195 to 210. They even gave buyers the option of switching to a different carburetor for a full 225 ponies. Man’s insane need for speed was being met with the new and improved Corvette. With the improved carburetor, the fiberglass roadster could get up to 60 miles per hour in just under 7.5 seconds.
In 1954 Chevrolet moved the assembly of the sports car to St. Louis (the line would eventually move again to its current home at Bowling Green in 1981). The new plant has the facilities to make a greater number of cars, and Chevy increases the number of colors the vehicles was available in.
Let the Dreaming Begin
With the improvements to power and impressive design changes happening to the Corvette each year, more and more people began to dream of owning, or at the very least, driving, one of Chevy’s dream cars. Every year the experts sat at the drawing tables and asked what improvements they could make to an already fantastic automobile. It is really difficult to improve on perfection, but every year the car saw changes that made it sleeker, faster, more stylish, more aerodynamic, and more desirable.
The Corvette was affectionately dubbed “the Vette,” and just about anyone who liked fast cars dreamed of owning one. Pictures of the machines were placed on calendars, and young boys stuck posters with the images of the car on the walls of their bedrooms. The ‘Vette was indeed a dream machine, and it seemed that the dream would, or shall we say, will, continue forever.
Keeping Up the Dream
The little sports car that received such a lukewarm acceptance at its debut continued to go through changes through the years. It got bigger, and that made it a little more comfortable to ride in. The amount of ground clearance it had was increased, so it was easier to navigate. The body styles increased the size of the rear end, and all of a sudden, “baby had back.”
The headlight configurations and taillight assemblies changed as the times changed and people demanded newer looks. In 1961, the now-infamous quad-taillights that allow these vehicles to be easily identified from the rear were installed on the first model. The new taillights were fashionable, attention getters that the buyers found remarkable. Chevy paid attention to what the buyers liked.
For the past sixty-eight years, the Corvette has been an American-made dream car. Sports car lovers want the machine because it is fast, it is sleek, and it is unmistakably a collector item that can win the race. Chevy enthusiasts want to own a Corvette simply because it is a fantastic example of Chevrolet’s ingenuity, motivation, and durability.
The Corvette Becomes a Super Car
Over the years, the Corvette has always kept pace with the trends of the sports car world. The original design was inspired by the popular British roadsters of the day, and when attention shifted to the more powerful European sports cars, the Corvette kept pace. However, there was always one thing holding it back from true supercar status – its traditional front-engine design.
Changing such an integral part of the Corvette’s image was a huge risk for Chevy, but when the mid engine 2020 Corvette rolled out for the first time, it was clear that their gamble had paid off. With styling that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a million-dollar exotic and simply incredible performance, the new Corvette blew critics off their feet while still managing to keep that traditional Corvette look.
Upcoming Features
The 2022 Corvette is the third model of the eighth-generation sports car. People are excitedly waiting to see just what Chevrolet has done to change, or improve, the dream machine. Consumers can expect more options in both the exterior and interior color palettes. The new colors have not been released, but you can imagine that they will be bold, beautiful, and sleek.
Along with the color changes, you can expect a few features and equipment upgrades. While they won’t be arriving for the 2022 model year, you will also see two new trim levels expected to be introduced in 2023. The latest Corvettes will be the E-Ray and the Z06.
The E-Ray will be a hybrid that combines the C8 Stingray V8 engine with a battery-electric system for incredible performance. It will be the first Corvette hybrid and the first of the family to have all-wheel drive. The new Z06 is expected to be one of the most aggressive-looking Corvette models ever produced and will announce its presence with the wail of a flat-plane-crank 5.5L V8. With a 9000 rpm redline, 600 horsepower, and a long list of track-ready upgrades, the Z06 not only “talks the talk, it walks the walk.”
Final Thoughts
The Corvette had humble beginnings. Only 300 hundred of the Polo White sports cars were built during the first year they were in production. But zoom forward to June of 2021, and 17,502 vehicles were produced during the first half of the year. It does not look like the Chevy Corvette will be going away any time soon, and with future models like the E-Ray and Z06, it is only getting better from here.
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