In September 1951, General
Motors' chief stylist Harley Earl became impressed with European sports cars at a
Watkins Glen race and decided GM should produce an American sports car. When a
Chevrolet fiberglass bodied prototype car rolls during a test drive in 1952
with little body damage, a decision is made that this new US sports car will have a
much lighter fiberglass body than the metal bodies of the European cars. The
final approval for the new sports car, code name Opel Sports Car, was given on June
2, 1952. Later in 1952, Myron Scott of Chevrolet Public Relations named the new
sports car Corvette, after a fast type of Royal Navy warship.
On January 17, 1953, the
prototype Chevrolet Corvette "Dream Car" was shown at the Motorama show at New York's
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. In Ashtabula, Ohio, in April of 1953, Robert Morrison
creates The Molded Fiber Glass Body Company to meet the $4 million order for
12,300 Corvette bodies.
The Flint Michigan production of the Corvette
ends in 1953 with only 300 cars made. Production of the 1954 model is moved to
the St. Louis plant. 1954 ended with 3265 cars made, but 1076 unsold. The
Corvette is (for the moment) considered a failure. Production continued with modifications and the
intent to evolve the Corvette into a world class sports car.
The 1956 model turned things around as the new
sports racing Corvette starts winning and breaking records at Daytona and Sebring.
The lighter body and high performance V8 gives the Corvette an advantage over the
heavier European models. Over the next several years, Chevrolet enhances both the
stock Corvettes and the racing versions.
To reduce weight, aluminum was introduced.
Aluminum cylinder heads and an aluminum radiator
were introduced, but then withdrawn.
The aluminum clutch housing stayed
and cut the corvette's weight by 18 pounds.
To improve the car's ride and handling,
a new rear suspension sway bar and
a larger-diameter front anti-roll bar were introduced.
Standard equipment included tachometer, sun
visors,
dual exhaust, Carpeting, seat belts,
outside rearview mirror and electric clock.
The 1960 Corvette was featured in the CBS TV show "Route 66" which debut on October 7, 1960 and was
raced worldwide.
