A Short History Of The Corvette - "America's Sports Car", Five Generations Of The Corvette
IT STARTED AS A MOTORAMA SHOW CAR:
The Corvette is as American as Apple Pie and Baseball. The Corvette's history starts in 1951, with a
commission by the legendary Harley Earl of GM for the building of a two seat show car to be shown in
the GM "Motorama" car show. Remember the Motoramas? Back in the heady post war days of the
1950's, GM had travelling car shows. They were presented with all the production of a mini World's
Fair exhibit, and toured the country. The shows were a great way for GM to gauge the reaction of the
public to "dream cars" that may make it into production. That was the justification for the original
Corvette, a Motorama show car.
A young designer named Bob McLean was given the task of drawing up the car in 1951. Ed Cole, then
the Chief Engineer for Chevrolet, loved the idea, and by the 1953 Motorama, the Corvette was born
with Chevrolet's backing. Different from other show cars, the Corvette was presented as a full working
production prototype. Thus, when the car was favorably received, it was quick to get into production.
For this we can thank Ed Cole
While we're mentioning some of the early supporters of the
Corvette, we need to acknowledge the single man who is
considered the Father of the Corvette. Zora Artus-Duntov joined
Chevrolet in 1953, and one of his first assignments was to solve a
problem with the early Corvette that resulted in exhaust being
sucked into the cockpit. Duntov, whose background was
European racing, saw the early Corvette as "a sheep in wolf's
clothing", and set out on a personal crusade to change the
Corvette into the production race car of choice.
THE FIRST GENERATION C-1, 1953 Through 1962:
The remarkable thing was the speed of the development
of the Corvette. In mid 1952, it was a model, in January
1953, it was a running prototype, and in late 1953, it was
introduced for sale with an initial production run of 300
cars. Indeed, the 1953 model production run was capped
at only 300 cars, making 1953 the rarest of all the 
Corvettes. It is amazing that of that original 300 cars,
about 200 are still in existence and accounted for. Today
that first Corvette design, which continued through 1962,
is known as the "C-1", or first generation Corvette. It was
this Corvette, the "straight axle" Corvette, that made
California racing so popular.
THE SECOND GENERATION C-2, 1963
Through 1967:
By 1963, the second generation Corvette, the fabled
"Sting Ray" was introduced. This generation, the "C-2", is
considered by some as the most collectable of all the
Corvettes. A modern Corvette, it was the first to have a
completely independent suspension system. The 1963
"split window" coupe is considered THE most collectable
of all Corvettes. The Sting Ray was produced through
1967, and was the first generation of Corvette to have big
block high performance engines installed.
THE THIRD GENERATION C-3, 1968
Through 1982:
In 1968, the Mako Shark inspired third generation "C-3"
was introduced. This car, launched with great
expectations, was ultimately caught in the energy and
regulatory squeeze of the late '60's and entire '70's, and
was produced through 1982, a remarkable fourteen years.
Perhaps the struggle to design a solution to the massive automotive problems of the '70's was more a reason for
the long production run that affection for this generation
Corvette.
THE FOURTH GENERATION C-4, 1984 Through 1996:
Perhaps the most anticipated Corvette introduction was
the C-4 generation. After the exciting advancements
brought by the C-2, and the less impressive gains during the struggle of the C-3 years, everyone was ready.
And
the big news was a return to higher performance, and a
significant improvement in build quality. The C-4 Corvette
was actually an all new car. Production of the C-3 ended
with the model year 1982, with the anticipation of the C-4
being introduced in 1983. An interesting historical footnote was that 1983 was the twenty fifth
anniversary of the Corvette as well. Despite this, the C-4 was delayed again, and was finally
introduced as a 1984 model. The result was that there was no 1983 Corvette! The ambitious C-4 has
turned out to be worth the wait, and some of the best Corvettes made are in this generation. Unique in
Corvette history is the 1990 to 1995 Corvette ZR-1. With it's Lotus overhead cam engine, it is certainly
the most collectable production Corvette since the big block C-2's of the mid '60's.
THE FIFTH GENERATION C-5, 1997
Through the present:
Yes the C-4 was a great Corvette. But as
development began on the next generation of
Corvette in the mid '80's, it was clear that
Corvette owners were going to demand even
higher build quality. The C-4 showed that it could
be done. The C-5 would have to accomplish it.
Though mechanically similar to the earlier model, the structure and body of the car have been
totally redesigned, resulting in a world class two
seat car with good ergonomics, chassis
stiffness, performance, and most important to
Corvette fans, value.