History C1 1955

End of the Road?

After moving to the new St. Louis plant, Chevrolet fully expected to produce 10,000 Corvettes in Model Year 1954.  Only 36% of that number reached the street.  Concern abounded about the future of the Corvette.  Would 1955 be the end of the road for America's sports car?  Only 700 Corvettes would be built in MY 1955.

With the advent of the new year, the struggle to attract buyers continued despite the base price for the inline 6 model remaining the same as the 1954 Corvette.  Chevrolet management talked about cutting their losses.  Zora Arkus-Duntov and others had their work cut out.  First and foremost... providing more power for America's sports car. 

The body for 1955 remained the same.   Additional color selections for exterior and interior were added.  Polo White was still the most popular color appearing on over half of the 1955 Corvettes.   Gypsy Red was the second most popular exterior color appearing on 180 of the Corvettes produced.  Pennant Blue was still available although records indicate it was discontinued in April 1954.  Other new colors included Harvest Gold and Corvette Copper which according to Antonick's "Black Book" estimates 15 Corvettes were painted in this color.

Interior colors included red, dark beige, light beige, green and yellow...the latter two reserved for Harvest Gold exteriors.  Tops were available in beige once again along with white and Green.

The biggest news was under the hood with the arrival of a 265 c.i. V-8 with about a 25% power boost to 195 horsepower and a Carter four-barrel carburetor sitting astride the V-8.  The new V-8 weighed 41 pounds less than the Blue Flame inline six cylinder which was still offered.  Although a 3-speed manual transmission was also available, almost all cars were equipped with the PowerGlide automatic.

Options for 1955 Corvettes included:

The windshield washer option was operated by a foot pedal.