The History of the Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is an iconic American sports car that has gone through many changes over the decades it has been in production. The mid-engine, European-inspired sports car we see today is definitely a departure from the Corvette of the past. Jeff Schmitt Chevy North takes a look at the history of this classic American muscle car.
The Corvette's Humble Beginnings
In the early 1950s, Chevrolet was experiencing a sales slump and decided that the best way to fix it was to produce an American take on British sports cars of the era. The result was a small two-seater with a fiberglass body and 3.9-liter inline-six engine paired with a two-speed automatic transmission. Only 300 cars were made of the 1953 model Corvette, and only 183 of them were sold. It wasn't a very good start for America's eventual top sports car.
The 1955 model fared better when Chevy replaced the original straight six with a 4.3-liter V8. This engine was paired with a three-speed manual transmission, and the combination vastly improved the Corvette's performance. The Corvette finally hit its stride in the latter half of the 1950s as the V8 engines got bigger and the Corvette got faster. In the 1960s, the Z06 was introduced and the Corvette's characteristic flip-up lights debuted.
The Corvette's Transformation
If you think the Corvette radically transformed in the present day, it's fun to look back at the Corvette in the late 60s and early 70s and see what a departure this model was from the early Vettes. The Corvette body style transformed from a compact roadster into something longer and curvier. In the early 70s, the engines continued to get bigger, but later in the 70s, the exact opposite happened. At the time, fuel economy was a concern amid gas shortages, and carmakers began to trim power to save MPG. This continued into the 1980s.
From the mid-1980s into the 1990s, the C4 Corvette generation finally began to get its power back. The fourth generation of the Corvette was introduced as a 1984 model and offered a 205-horsepower V8 engine. After some years without a convertible, the convertible was reintroduced in 1986. In 1990, the ZR1 was introduced and was sold through the 1995 model year. This model featured a 5.7-liter V8 engine that made 375 horsepower.
The Modern Vette
The C4 Corvette lasted through 1996 and then the C5 was introduced. The base power output for this Vette was 345. The C5 featured wider front and rear tracks and a wheelbase that was eight inches longer than the previous generation. This gave the Vette a more modern look and made it more spacious and stable.
The sixth generation Corvette finally came in 2005. It looked fairly similar to the previous generation, but with a slightly longer wheelbase and a shorter overall length of five inches. Checking in on the base horsepower for this generation, the Corvette now boasted 400 horsepower with the LS2 engine. The C7 would come in 2014 and marked another transformation with an aluminum frame and no more popup lights. The sequel to this striking transformation is the current C8 generation featuring a mid-engine layout.
Next up for the Vette is both a hybrid and a full EV model, with the former likely to come in 2023, and the latter at a later date.
The Chevrolet Corvette has come a long way since its spartan beginnings, and we at JeffSchmitt Chevy North can't wait to see what the future holds for this iconic American sports car.