In 1951, Harley J. Earl, the chief designer for General Motors, began to develop an open sports car that would sell for about the price of a family sedan. Earl then turned his basic concept over to Robert McLean to bring the car into reality. To keep costs down, McLean used off-the-shelf mechanical components from the 1952 Chevrolet and a fiberglass body. The new car, called the Corvette, was introduced at the 1953 New York Auto Show. The public loved the new car and thousands of potential buyers wanted to buy one. Production of the Corvette began on June 30, 1953. The Thunder Dome Car Museum in Enumclaw, Washington has some Corvettes on display.
1959 Chevrolet Corvette Drag Car
1963 Corvette Convertible
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
This car had a base price of $ 4,084. It has the LS1 Redline Performance 425 horsepower engine with a 5-speed manual transmission.
1969 Corvette
This car has the 427 cubic inch, 390 horsepower engine with a 4-speed transmission. This was the last year for the 427 big block.
More Cars
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Museums 101: Some Go Fast Cars (photo diary)
Car Show: Mustangs and Thunderbirds (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Porsche automobiles, 1955-1969 (photo diary)
Museums 101: BMW Automobiles (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Automobiles of the 1960s (Photo Diary)
World of Speed: The Porsche 911 (Photo Diary)
British Transportation Museum: A collection of Jaguars (photo diary)