The excitement and outright allure of the Corvette is not an element that can be described all of the way with just one sentence or photo, and the staff at Car And Driver put together a great piece illustrating the rise of this car that all of us here at O'rielly Chevy have loved for decades. As we virtually thumbed through it wide-eyed here on the lot, it did a fantastic job of showing us just how the vehicle rose through the ranks, to get to the place it is today. During the early 1950's, it was evident that the creation of a very powerful sportscar was going to be necessary to assure that the GM namesake would remain continuously profitable.
Project Opel was the code name that the Corvette was first produced under, and it was a very unique take on the British sports cars of the time, pieced together from a fiberglass body, and a 3.9-liter straight six engine mated to a somewhat tiny 2-speed automatic transmission. After making its debut to a very warm reception during GM's 1953 Motorama show in New York city, the Corvette became the very different entrant that then went on to be mass-produced on the line. Production was slightly rushed following the debut of the model, and the two-seat roadster incorporated the use of fiberglass body panels, and had reliance on the much more powerful Blue Flame inline-six for power source.
During 1953, the U.S. Was booming in general, and Chevy produced 300 Corvettes, selling just 138 of them. Many thought that at the time, this happened because it was not civilized enough to be a touring car, nor engaging enough to appeal to die-hard sports-car enthusiasts. During 1955, new life came in abundance to the Chevy brand, when they finally shoved their 4.3-liter V-8 under the hood in one of the most intelligent plays ever. For the first time ever, the 'Vette was now offering sports-car performance of an upper caliber. For the 1956 year's offering, the front end was revised, seeming to be a bit similar to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe, while scalloped sides added a look that was much more distinct. A second carb was available, and raised power output to the 225 horse threshold.
During the 1960's, many things were changing for the car landscape in general. The Corvette went entirely under the knife once again, and emerged sporting a revised front end, as well as a new dual-headlight design for 1958... other changes include an updated interior that featured the relocation of the tachometer from the center of the dashboard, to a location below the speedometer, conveniently right in the driver's line of sight. One of the most iconic Corvettes ever was released in 1965, and the brake improvements as well as the placement of a “big block” V-8 engine under the Corvette's hood, and this was one of those models that is awesome in red, producing a monstrous 425 gross horsepower. For the 1967 model, the power rating shot up to 435, and this was when there was a second 427 – cubic-inch V-8 added to the lineup.
The introduction of the Sharknado was one of the coolest-styled additions of the late 1960's, as designer Larry Shinoda put out a true home run, based on the Mako Shark II concept car. The three-speed automatic transmission replaced the prior two-speed unit, and the very powerful and appealing Stingray was on deck to enlarge the stroke of the standard V8. This ultimately brought the displacement up to 5.7 liters, and the 1970s saw some pretty amazing Corvettes. Even though the 70's were agreeably one of the most iconic and memorable times ever, we then skipped ahead on the slideshow to 1983, when Chevy released the 4th-generation Corvette as a 1984 model.
It was completely redesigned from the ground up, and welcomed additional clearance, as well as a lower center of gravity. The 205-hp, 350 cubic inch V-8 is the only engine offered, and mates to either a 4-speed automatic transmission, or Chevy's 4+3 manual gearbox, which offers overdrive features for gears two, 3, and 4.
For the present, the announcement of the ZR1's arrival for next year is making all of us here in Tucson pretty anxious: there were numerous changes to the Corvette during the 2000s as well, and these were the years when it became sleeker, and possessed the true luster of a futuristic and capable car. The emergence of the Z06 in 2006 was a major milestone for the brand, and many customers immediately fell in love with the lightweight aluminum frame, on top of the LS7 engine. We loved virtually picking through this illustrious ode to Corvettes, and cordially invite you down to O'rielly Chevy for a test drive of the latest and greatest ASAP!
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