The Chevy
Corvette
The
World's Fastest Production Car
And
The 63-Years It Took To Get There
Welcome to
a special ride on a 63-Year history. The unique history of one of
Americas most popular. Fastest most powerful Sports cars, the
Corvette. In a fast-moving, fact-filled 8 part series you'll learn
(through 8 signature models) just how the Chevy Corvette came to be
the fastest production car in the World today. Learn just how
Chevrolet took the time to learn how to build and perfect Sports
Machine and how fortunate we as drivers were to be able to come along
for the ride. Below are the featured models that made sure every year
re-established its dominance in the world of speed.
So come along for the ride and learn
just how GM managed to successfully managed to perfectly integrate a
standard V8 engine, outstanding suspension, and a one-of-a-kind
transmission to create a sports machine, one of the most coveted
automotive sports machines ever created in the world of automotive
speed. A machine that to this day still stands firmly atop both the
world of production cars.
Learn just how the Corvette against
all odds still uses a V8 as its power base. Even though most
Super-Car producers have long since moved up to 10, 12 and in some
cases (usually $1 Million or more) the coveted V16. Yet some how the
“Speed Division” at GM continues to amaze the the world of speed
by somehow continuing to manipulate, integrate and increase power with
the same V8 it started out with 60-Years ago.
Learn the entire life of
America's fastest production Sports-Car right here! In just 8 parts,
8 models (3 of which are listed here) of Chevrolet's fastest most
popular models of the Corvette;
The 1953 Chevy Corvette
C1 – An Underpowered Hand-Built Cruiser
The 1963 Chevy Corvette
Stingray – Speed Aerodynamics Perfectly Blended (Edmunds #16)
The 1990 Chevy Corvette
ZR1 – A Digital Savior (Edmunds #50)
The 1999 Chevy Corvette
C5 – A New Century A New Look
The 2002 Chevy Corvette
Z06 - New Millennium New Dominance
The 2009 Chevy Corvette
ZR1 – A Perfect Response With A Blast From The Past (Edmunds #78)
The 2015 Chevy Corvette
Z06 – The World's Fastest Production Sports Car
The 2017 Chevy Corvette
??? - What Does The Future Hold
So be sure and return as
each week and catch the newest part of the series as it will be
featured right here on this very website! The perfect to learn about
speed, American Speed at 200 Miles An Hour! And remember it cost
nothing at all to go down to your local Chevrolet dealer (your site
here!) and see the brand new Z06 in person! Ask a few questions and
of course take a test drive!
All I can say as we know ALL Corvettes only increase in value, one
can be purchased and deemed an investment.
So sit back relax and enjoy the reading and feel to comment!
___________________________________________________________________________________
Part
One – The 1953 Chevy Corvette C1
An Under-powered Hand-Built Cruiser
The
very first Corvette, the 1953 C1 was actually designed and created as
a show car for the World-Famous Motorama of 1953 annually held in New
York, as a display. It generated so much interest simply sitting as a
display along with Tens of Thousands of inquiries, letters and
telephone calls that followed months after. General Motors decided
then and there to make it a full-blown production model and rushed
into it production late into the 1953 auto year.
The
Beginning
The
Chevrolet Corvette C1 was introduced on June 30th 1953 and you could
pick one up for a mere $3,490. Officially classified as Sports-Car by
GM, the C1 was grossly underpowered, running on only a relatively
small 235 cu in. engine, especially when compared to some of the
massive powerplants being put under the hood of most the sports-cars
of the day.
Considered more of an experiment, a sort of prototype as
seen by many. The Corvettes 1
st
year was surprisingly a little shaky. Initially the C1 received mixed
reviews from both consumers and auto-experts. Many said it was
clearly due to the extremely small and underpowered power plant, the
235. Yet in a stroke of pure automotive luck, instead of being one of
the fastest, the C1' was instantly recognized and classified as one
of the most beautiful Hand-Built 2-Seat Convertible Cruisers
ever produced! Yes, the 1st
generation of Corvettes where and still is by many actually
considered as Cruisers! That's
right! Even though they were aiming to create a true “Speed-Demon”
they instead in a single stroke defined cruising
and
also gave us one of the nicest convertible ever hand-built. A
beautiful 2-Seater built in vivid contrasting color, head turning,
eye catching colors. It was a car meant to be driven slowly, a true
cruiser, a real head-turner, eye catcher.
The
53' Vette' was (and still is) a beautiful 2-Seater to look at both at
a perfect standstill as well as in motion. With only 300 models
produced, all hand-built. All 300 came in one design, one trim one
that still turns heads to this day. A perfect Polo White exterior
accented with Chrome stripping. The interiors all an “excited”
vibrant Red which seemed to give the 2-Door a unique degree of
excitement.
The vibrant Red interior many drivers would
later say was the most exciting part as it seemed to envelope you
once you sat inside. Many
believed the most beautiful part of '53 Vette overall was the
Jet-Black
Canvas Soft-Top, it seemed to do a fantastic job of bringing the car
together. The Tires! It was the tires that actually tied it all
together. Take a look at the “53 up close and you'll notice how the
“White-Wall” tires is really what ties it all together. With a
nice accented strip of coloring from each section of the car interior
Red, exterior White and of course Soft-Top canvas Black.
Aside
from getting such mixed reviews from consumers, the C1 for 1953
surprisingly also fell well short of GM's sales expectations. With
such a rocky start and no real backing the program was nearly
cancelled! We can all thank the automotive Gods. That GM quickly
realized a few tweaks and adjustments made could dramatically
increase speed and improve overall handling and performance on the
upcoming 1954 model...and decided to give the Corvette one more year.
Whew!
A
year of learning. Even though the 1953 Corvette C1, seemed to miss
its intended mark of going fast somehow it had unknowingly set the
standard for Classic Cruisers. The
following year however GM introduced an entirely new car, a
Sports-Car. The “54 Corvette was the perfect example of “how to
improve” a product...literally.
In
hindsight most would say that the 53' C1 had done what it was made to
do...make a splash! Little did any of us as owners, drivers or
collectors know what Chevy
really had
in store for us in the very near future. Especially when it came to
its instant new best-seller, the Corvette.
>>>>Stay Tuned For Part Two
The 1963 Corvette Stingray - Speed, Design and Aerodynamics perfectly blended...
Thanks For Reading and feel free to comment!
