10 Factoids About Early Corvettes

All Seven Generations of Corvette

You may be a know-it-all about Corvettes, but do you really know it all? What follows are a handful of facts and factoids that you may or may not know about the early days of the best car ever. But even if you already know all of these, it includes pictures of Corvettes, and who doesn't like that?

1. What Does it Mean?

The word "corvette" comes from the French, by way of the Dutch word corf, meaning a small ship. The Dutch got it from the Latin word corbis, meaning "basket." And above you'll find a small basket made out of fabric printed with Corvettes, it's double the corbis!

2. Corvettes at War

The French coined the term "corvette" in the late 17th century to mean a sixth-rate class of sailing warship bigger than a sloop, but smaller than a frigate. By the 1800s sailing corvettes were about 100 ft. long, with 20 guns aboard. The corvette continued in the steam era as a faster, more maneuverable companion to gunboats and battleships. WWII saw a need for small warships that could be produced quickly in smaller shipyards and deployed to escort and protect merchants' vessels, and the corvette was reborn. In the modern era, the corvette has once again become one of the Navy's smallest, quickest, most maneuverable, and most versatile ships. You can read about the various corvettes of war on this Wikipedia page.

3. The Motorama Show Car

Harley Earl had always been a fan of smaller, lower, sportier cars, as shown in his Buick Y-job from before the war, and the 1951 LaSabre concept car. His special projects team began working on a 2-seater sports car, based on the standard Chevrolet chassis, in 1951 so that by the time it premiered at the 1953 Motorama it was not just a dream car, but ready to be produced. After making the show circuit, and becoming the basis of the 1953 production Corvette six months later, it became an engineering test mule. EX-122 was not only the first Corvette, but the first to receive a small block V8 as well. In 1956 R.F. Saunders, head of the GM experimental division, bought the car from GM for $1,000 and continued to drive it and enjoy it for many years. This car, restored to Motorama condition, continues to win trophies at car shows for its owners, Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City.

4. Zora Arkus-Duntov

If Zora had not come along when he did, the Corvette might have become a bloated luxury car like the Thunderbird, or worse yet, gone away completely. This European-born engineer and racer saw the potential in the Corvette and fought for the V8 motor, 4-speed manual transmission, and other performance improvements. He helped engineer the original small-block V8, and even created the first performance cam for it in an attempt to set a speed record for a stock car. The 1957 Corvette SS (pictured above) was a special model created to go road racing at the 12 hours of Sebring. In its first race, it was clocked going as fast as 183mph but never got to prove itself because GM banned all official racing efforts shortly afterward. Did you know Zora was also behind the Ardun overhead valve hemi conversion for the Ford flathead V8?

5. The 1953-54 C1 Corvette

The Motorama show car was so popular, production cars started rolling off the line just six months later. Luckily, the show car had been built up on full-size Chevy passenger car running gear, with the driver compartment moved back to create a 53/47 weight distribution front to rear. The big car brakes worked better on the lighter Corvette as well. The Stovebolt was hotted up with 3-side draft carbs and made 150hp. Unfortunately, only a 2-speed Powerglide automatic was available. 300 cars were hand built on the truck assembly line in Flint, MI, all of them white with red interiors and all of the "options" included. For 1954, 3,600 cars were built in white, red, or black with a red interior, or Pennant Blue (as pictured above) with a beige interior. Though rumors persist of dealer-installed Paxton Superchargers being an option in 1954, it appears to be a myth, and the only Paxton-equipped car found online is the prototype built by Paxton to test the waters.

6. The 1955 Corvette V8

Even though Chevy dealers all over the country still had over 1954 Corvettes that they were having a hard time selling, for 1955, there was finally a Chevy V8 motor and they made sure to fit it in the Corvette ASAP. Another significant improvement, thanks to Zora's urging, was the option of a manual transmission, though only a 3-speed. With a V8 power (nearly 200hp) and a manual transmission, it was literally off to the races, with several cars running in NASCAR-sanctioned oval races and speed trials, and a 3-car factory-backed effort at the 12 hours of Sebring. Still, things were not looking all that great sales-wise, with just 700 cars sold in 1955, making it the 2nd rarest year, behind the 300 built in 1953 (or 3rd if you include the 0 built in 1983). Zora personally drove a specially prepped 1955 Corvette to a new record at Pikes Peak and did over 150mph at Daytona Beach.

7. A New Corvette for 1956-57

Despite the low sales in 1955, there was a revised body for the Corvette for 1956, with dramatic coves in the sides which certainly made it look faster. The small-block V8 was now standard, as was the 3-speed manual, and options could get you up to 240hp. The new body also brought real roll-up glass windows (with optional power) and a better folding top (also with optional power assist). A removable hard top was also an option. The 1957 model was mostly the same but with the addition of Rochester fuel injection (1,040 cars) and a 4-speed manual (just 664 cars) on the options list. 

8. The End of Factory Racing

1957 was the last year before GM corporate barred factory racing efforts, but several specially prepped factory cars were raced at Sebring, LeMans, and more. First, there were factory production cars, prepped with options like the heavy-duty suspension and the cold air "airbox" breathing through the fender, of which there were about 50. Much further from the factory were the SR-2 (Sebring Racer) Corvettes, like the one pictured, built specifically to replace the Ferrari Harley Earl's son had been racing. Also entered at Sebring was the Corvette SS, a tube frame race car with Corvette running gear built by Zora to take on all comers. After the tragedy at LeMans, where an out-of-control Mercedes crashed into and killed spectators, GM decreed that there would be no more factory-backed racing efforts.

9. 1960 Briggs Cunningham Corvette Team at LeMans

After the ban on direct involvement between the factory and racing, there were still plenty of private racers in Corvettes, with Briggs Cunningham being one of the best-funded. After first racing at LeMans in a pair of Cadillacs in 1950, Briggs made a much more serious effort in 1960 with a trio of Corvettes. To this day, some say this was an unofficial factory effort, and Zora Arkus-Duntov being listed as a reserve driver lends some credibility to that rumor. Two of the cars suffered terminal problems, but at the end of 24 hours, the third car was in 8th place overall, behind the Ferraris, and finished first in its class.

10. The Split Window Coupe

While the original C1 Corvettes were groundbreaking in a lot of ways, the all-new for 1963 Corvette was miles ahead of it when it came to refinement, handling, and power. The all-new chassis in 1963 was not based on the Chevrolet passenger car, but purpose-built for the Corvette with a unique independent rear suspension. The styling for the C2 Corvette is still considered by many to be the best-looking of all Corvettes. Head of GM styling Bill Mitchell is credited with coming up with the name Sting Ray, for an unofficial race car/concept car based on the old Corvette SS, which also lent much of the styling to the C2. Bill Mitchel is also credited with killing the split rear window after 1963, because he couldn't see out of it when he finally got a chance to drive one. You can credit Peter Brock who designed the Mitchell Sting Ray, and Larry Shinoda who designed the production car, for forming this beautiful machine.

Join the conversation about early Corvettes right here in Corvette Forum!