Corvettes have been intertwined with American history for over fifty years.
Although the Corvette was the dream of a 6'4" American
named Harley Earl, ironically, America's sports car owes a lot to
two immigrants who are at the heart of the Corvette story, both of
whom were racers at heart.
 Born
in Switzerland and emigrating to the United States in 1900, Louis Chevrolet's
racing interests and name were used to create the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 which would create the Corvette four
decades later. He sold his interest in 1915 to pursue racing. His
cars won the Indianapolis 500 in 1920 and 1921. Chevrolet's interest
in racing provided the historic backdrop for the creation of the Corvette.
Harley Earl was responsible for the birth of the Corvette.
Thanks to his eldest son Jerry's interest in racing and sports car,
we have America's sports car. The SR2 was raced by Jerry Earl
at Elkhart Lake. Here Earl Harley stands next to the trophy.
 Later another
immigrant with an interest in racing, Zora Arkus-Duntov, would come to work for
Chevrolet and save the Corvette from being axed by Chevrolet
management. Interest in racing continues to this very day with the very
successful C5-R efforts.
 Six generations (C1 - C6) of Corvette have occurred since the first Corvette appeared
in the 1953 GM Motorama in New York City. The latest generation (C6)
debuted at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit on January 4, 2004 almost
fifty-one years to the day after the 1953 Corvette appeared at the GM Motorama.
Racing and value are two sides to the Corvette coin.
Racing's heritage stems from the early days of W. C. Durant and
Louis Chevrolet and their minting of the Chevrolet coin. Zora
Arkus-Duntov is added into the composition of the Corvette coin
bringing to bear his lifelong fascination with and participation in
racing. The value side of the coin is best expressed by
quoting the then Chevrolet chief engineer, Don Runkle, in a 1986
interview with Road and Track. Monsieur Runkle said, "We could
obviously build and blow away the Testarossa, but I'm not sure what
the point of that exercise is. That just shows that you can do
it. our goal is to do it at 25 per cent of the price."
 The
first model year (1953) of the first generation (C1) produced only 300
Corvettes...all roadsters...adorned in Polo White with red interior, the only
available color combination. In 2003, Corvette celebrated its 50th year
anniversary. The sixth generation of Corvettes began with Model Year 2005.
Racing and value are more in evidence in the C6 than ever before.
Three Chief Engineers have overseen
the five
generations beginning with the legendary Zora Arkus-Duntov who was succeeded by Dave McLellan
in 1975. Dave McLellan was in turn succeeded by Dave Hill, the current
chief engineer, on December 31, 1992, the last day McLellan could take advantage
of an early retirement package offered by General Motors.
The
history of America's sports car is a page turner...the first three years were
almost the last three years. Each of the chief engineers has made
their mark in Corvette history. Arguably, Arkus-Duntov saved Corvette from
an early fate and Dave McLellan restored the Corvette image with his C4
generation featuring the ZR-1 and the Grand Sport. Dave Hill has
overseen the creation of the best-selling C5
generation and its successor, the C6...better in all respects.
Eventually, we will have a page on the history of each model year comprising
each of the six generations of Corvette. To accompany our history of the Corvette, we are adding Corvette Trivia and
World Events sections related to each year of the Corvette. We
have also included a page on the legendary and rare 1963 split-window Z06.
Each
year of the over fifty years of Corvette history tells a unique chapter in the story of America's sports
car. As the country grew and matured, so did the Corvette.
Here are some shortcuts to specific years in each generation that have been
finished or that we're working on.
With Born in the USA, we turn the
first pages in our history.
Hope Springs Eternal chronicles Model Year 1954 and
End of the Road?
tells how 1955 almost became the Corvette endgame.
A New Vision and
A Solid Foundation provide information on Model Year '56 and '57
respectively.
Split Decision,
327s
Rule and the Big Block Era Begins explain more about the 1963,
1964 and 1965 model years, respectively. Bigger
Big Block and Deuces Wild round out the stories of
the C2 generation.
Heavy Weight looks at 1975's low point for power and
high point for weight.
Did I Miss MY 1983? relates
the introduction of the first MY of the fourth generation. The
return of fuel injection and MY 1985 are marked in
Fueling Sales while Return of the Ragtop discusses MY 1986 which produced the first
convertible since the seventies. Twin
Turbo Time chronicles the introduction of the Callaway and the
new MY 1987 COrvette.
Portrait in Black and White discussed the 35th anniversary year
of MY 1988.
Introducing the ZR-1? discusses MY 1989.
A Grand Year talks about the
debut of the Grand Sport in MY 1996, the final year of the C4
generation.
Five Decades Later looks at the 50th Anniversary MY
2003 and its award winning Magnetic Selective Ride Control.
The Last Picture Show looks at the last MY of the C5
generation.
Six Sigma looks at the first model year (2005)of the
sixth generation.
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