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Enter: C1
June of 1953 brought production of the Corvette to life, and on the 30th of
that same month, the first ever production Corvette rolled off the assembly
line in the Flint, Michigan GM plant number 35. It was driven off the
assembly line by a very lucky worker named Tony Kleiber. This first
Corvette carried a window sticker price of slightly over three thousand
American dollars. It featured a 235 cubic inch six cylinder engine building
150 horsepower, and was controlled by a two speed automatic transmission.
It was only offered in Polo White, with a red interior, and a black
manually controlled top. In all, three hundred 1953 Corvettes were built
with the last one being built December 24th, 1953. All of the 1953
Corvettes were only offered to specially selected VIPs and the automobile
testing media, but with the introduction of the Ford Thunderbird in 1954 it
officially became available for purchase by general public. To prepare for
the increase in sales, the plant was moved from Flint to St. Louis Missouri,
which could build at least ten thousand by year end, yet only thirty six
hundred and forty were built. Along with some minor changes here and there,
the 1954 Corvette offered the buyer color options of Pennant Blue, Sportsman
Red, and Black, along with the Polo White, and the previously only black top
was now available in beige, and carried a base price of about $2774.
1955 brought about some more minor exterior and interior changes, and two
big driveline changes. While the six cylinder engine was still available
and was now building 155 horsepower, and the two speed automatic
transmission was still available, the 55 Corvette offered the first manual
transmission, and the first V8 engine. This new V8 was a 265 cubic inch
engine with overhead valves and carried a four barrel carburetor, which made
a stout 195 horsepower. More new colors came about, Copper with a beige
interior and Harvest Gold with a Green and Yellow interior were introduced,
and Gypsy Red cars now featured a light beige interior. Along with the
black and beige top, white and dark green tops were offered, in both canvas
and vinyl.
1956 brought about the first physical changes to the Corvette. While the
same general appearance was preserved, a rounded fender shape was adapted
with chrome headlight trim, and in the rear, the quarter panels were rounded
down to where the tail lights are molded into the rear end. Along the side
of the car, the concave section was chrome trimmed, as were the new
externally mounted door handles. The interiors were only offered in beige
or red, and the external colors were Onyx black, Polo white, Venetian red,
Cascade green, Aztec copper, and Arctic blue. This brought about the first
year for the removable hard top, and the was also the first year with no six
cylinder engine option. 1957 had the same physical appearance as the 1956
model, but it had one big change. The V8 engine had been enlarged to 283
cubic inches, and built 283 horsepower thanks to the newly introduced fuel
injection system and to control that horsepower a new four speed manual
transmission became available. Seven exterior colors were offered: Onyx
Black, Polo White, Aztec Copper, Cascade Green, Arctic Blue, Venetian Red,
and Inca Silver, and could come with a silver white or beige side cove, and
a black, white, or beige top. The 1958 model front end got a minor
facelift, with the addition of two more headlights. Also, to give the car a
classy look, chrome was added to the hood, trunk, and side of the car. Hood
louvers were added, and the side cove was changed a bit with some chrome
being added inside them. The grille kept the same look, but was spaced out
giving it a meaner look. The dashboard was redesigned a bit, having moved
the gauges around, and a center console was added. Also, the power was
bumped up to 290 horsepower, helping this new Corvette jump from zero to
sixty in under seven seconds. In 1959, the nonfunctional hood louvers were
removed, as were the trunk chrome strips, and along with some very minor
changes on the interior, 1959 marked no real changes for the Corvette.
1960's
The 1960 Corvette received a change to the tail end as well as some underbody
changes to the rear suspension to aide handling. The horsepower was once
again upped to 315 thanks to an increased compression ratio, yet lower
horsepower models were still available. 1961 brought the public the
introduction of the Corvette crossed flags logo, over a silver background,
and the previously bumper exit exhaust was moved under the car. The premium
engine option still offered 315 horsepower, and the four speed manual was
the standard transmission, with a take rate of nearly seventy percent. It
was also in 1961 that the XP-755 Mako Shark concept was built, which offered
a glimpse into the future of the Corvette. 1962 offered a major change in
the driveline. The 283 cubic inch engine was removed, and instead a 327
cubic inch engine, with the high line model building 360 horsepower with the
fuel injection and 11.25 to 1 compression ratio. This was also the first
year since 1955 that the side coves could not be ordered in a color
different from the rest of the body, but customers could order their
Corvettes with wheels that matched the body color. This model also market
the first year that the base model was over four thousand dollars.
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