| Long known for family cars, Chevrolet sought a
youthful image to match Ford's reputation as a hot rodder's dream. Thus came the |
| Corvette, it first appeared in January
1953 as a show car at the GM Motorama. by the end of June, production was underway on an
initial batch of fiberglass-bodied two-seaters |
 |
| - each painted Polo White. The interiors were trimmed
in red and white. the dash sported gauges stretched across the twin-pod dash, making
reading them difficult. The car was powered by a modified 235.5-cid "Blue Flame" six cylinder engine and a two speed Powerglide
transmission. The Corvette project development took about 30 months, it
was a joint effort of Harley Earl's Art and Color Studio and the Chevrolet engineering
staff. It was the public's enthusiast response to the GM show car that convinced Chevrolet
to put it into production. Some of the styling touches included screened headlights,
extended pod-style taillights and a wraparound windshield. |
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| In its first full year of production, 3640 1954
Corvettes were produced as production was moved to the St. Louis plant. For $3,523.,
sports |
| -car fans received a fiberglas-bodied
car with plastic side curtains and no outside door handles. But with every new idea,
Chevrolet needed to start somewhere. |
 |
| From this humble beginning an automotive legend was
born. |
