Month: June 2013

In the early 1950′s, Harley Earl, GM’s head of styling, envisioned a low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe’s Jaguar, MG and Ferrari. Codenamed “Opel”, the very first prototype made its debut in January 1953 at the GM Motorama show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

The great reviews and pubic acclaim for the little white roadster prompted GM to fast track the Corvette into production. Sixty years ago today on June 30, 1953, the world’s first production Corvette rolled off its Flint, Michigan assembly line.

Chevrolet built 300 Corvettes over the course of the 1953 model year. A uniform design allowed the workers to concentrate on putting the bodies together without being distracted by trim and equipment variations. Therefore, all 1953 Corvettes were Polo White with Sportsman Red interiors and equipped with a canvas soft-top, 6.70 x 15 whitewall tires and a Delco signal-seeking radio. Also standard was a 5,000-rpm tachometer and a counter for total engine revolutions.

Underneath the fiberglass were standard Chevrolet components. The 250 cubic inch Blue Flame Special 6-cylinder engine came from the truck line while the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission and drum brakes were also found on various Chevrolet passenger cars. A triple-carb intake on the Corvette gave the 2-seater a bit more power but overall performance was lacking.

Although some sports car purists took exception to the Corvette’s only available transmission – the 2-speed Powerglide automatic, the Corvette was still a decent sports car with well-tuned examples running 0-60 mph in 11 seconds and having a top speed near 105 mph.

The Corvette’s original base price was set at $3,498.00. However the general public was hard pressed to get one as most of the production was doled out to project engineers, GM executives and other high profile customers including Hollywood movie stars like John Wayne. In fact a dealer notice issued in July ’53 from the Central Office proclaimed: “No dealer is in a position to accept firm orders for delivery of a Corvette in 1953.”

Today, the 1953 Corvette remains one of the most sought after Corvette models by collectors. Proof that some cars do indeed improve with age.

Related:
Four Ways to Celebrate Corvette’s 60th Birthday this Weekend
The $2.5 Billion Economy Surrounding the Chevrolet Corvette
Corvette Enters the World Stage 60 Years Ago Today

 

On Friday afternoon at the National Corvette Museum, Corvette Team Members Harlan Charles and John Fitzpatrick pulled the covers off of two cars to reveal the new 2014 Corvette Stingray Premiere Ediion. The Laguna Blue 3LT Brownstone Corvette Coupes will be specially numbered and limited to 500 examples.

After the covers were pulled, Harlan says the new Premiere Edition welcomes the return of the Corvette Stingray.

These 500 “Premiere Editions” will all be built with the same colors, options and accessories.

The Laguna Blue Coupes come with the 3LT Brownstone interior and have the new 19/20″ Torque Chrome Wheels, Z51 Package, 7-Speed Manual transmission, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, Performance Exhaust system and the carbon fiber roof. Other accessories include Stingray center caps and sill plates, a unique cargo shade, Stingray floor mats. Inside the Corvette has the suede and carbon fiber packages and a numbered dash plaque.

The package also includes a special matched luggage set with the Corvette logo which generated a lot of ohhs and awess when they were pulled from the one of the trunks.

Here some pictures from the Premiere Reveal showing the individual options and accessories:

The Corvettes Stingray Premiere Editions shown at the NCM were numbers 001 and 002 of the 500 planned. During the presentation, we learned that all but one of the Corvettes will come with the manual transmission while the #001 Premiere Edition comes with an automatic.

The Corvette Stingray Premiere Editions will only be available in the United States, Canada and Mexico, but they won’t appear in the order guide and you can’t order one. They will be built and sent to the top selling Corvette dealers who will decide how and when they will be sold. Pricing, availablilty and dealer allocation will be announced soon.

Source:
National Corvette Museum
Photos courtesy of CS and Rick “Corvette” Conti

Related:
Chevrolet Reveals the 2014 Corvette Stingray Premiere Edition
[PICS] The 2014 Corvette Stingrays at the Corvette Museum’s 60th Anniversary Celebration
Four Ways to Celebrate Corvette’s 60th Birthday this Weekend