Since 1953 the Chevy Corvette has been America's red, white, blue and fiberglass interpretation of all a high-performance two-seater should be. And for many of those decades it was the only American sports car, as Chevrolet's competitors dared not put anything up against it. The Chevrolet Corvette will always be America's sports car.
The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette was powered by a 150-horsepower "Blue Flame" six backed by a two-speed Powerglide automatic. It was underwhelming and Chevrolet was lucky to sell the 300 Corvettes it built.
It was the 1955 introduction of V8 power, in the form of Chevy's legendary "Small Block" overhead-valve V8, that brought the Corvette to life. Though that first small-block only displaced 265 cubic inches, made just 195 hp and was still saddled with that Powerglide, the potential was obvious. And in 1956 that potential began to be realized as the small-block's output bumped to 210 hp and a three-speed manual transmission was offered for the first time.
After that, under the guidance of Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Corvette's abilities and achievement multiplied. By 1957 the T10 four-speed manual transmission was available, the small block grew to 283 cubic inches, and when equipped with Rochester mechanical fuel injection, it made 283 hp. The "C1" Chevrolet Corvette was finally a real sports car.
For 1963 the Chevy Corvette made the leap forward to the classic "C2" Stingray. With an all-independent suspension and an available fastback hardtop body style, the C2 is still considered the classic Corvette by many enthusiasts. Particularly coveted are later Stingrays powered by 427-cubic-inch "big block" V8s making over 400 hp. With the C2, the Chevrolet Corvette became a legend.
The sharklike "C3" Chevrolet Corvette came in 1968 and lasted through some of the Corvette's toughest years as it was battered by emissions equipment strangulations and fuel shortages. The 1984 "C4" brought a high-tech edge to the car and the 1997 "C5" refined that edge into an elegant driving instrument.
The "C6" was introduced during 2005 and includes the overwhelming 638-hp second incarnation of the ZR1 among its members. No American-market car has been in continuous production longer than the Chevy Corvette, and few have achieved its greatness.
