1957 Corvette is the First Known Airbox Ever Built

Curvy, Potent Favorite

Ask anybody what their favorite Corvette is, and many will say it is the two-year '56-'57 version of the C1. And we wouldn't exactly argue with them, either. These curvy beauties also packed quite the potent punch in terms of performance, especially if you opted for a fuelie. But if you wanted the ultimate Corvette in 1957, you bought something like this famed "Airbox" model that recently crossed the block at Mecum's Kissimmee sale.

Worth It

This is, amazingly enough, the very first Airbox Corvette ever built. And Chevy only built a grand total of 43 of them. Today, only 22 are known to still exist. Thus, these cars routinely command big money when they pop up for sale, and this one is obviously no exception. It sold for a whopping $500,000, and we'd say it's worth every penny.

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Filling the Trophy Case

Since undergoing an exhaustive restoration back in 2007, this '57 has been racking up award after award. That includes a 2007 Bloomington Gold Special Collection appearance, 2008 Ault Park Concours d'Elegance Award of Distinction, 2010 Bloomington Gold Great Hall induction, and multiple NCRS Top Flight Awards.

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A Star is Born

If that isn't enough, this particular Airbox Corvette was also featured in the novel "The Corvette in the Barn" by author Tom Cotter, and later a Velocity TV documentary dubbed "One of a Kind." Few other cars that we know of can lay claim to that kind of stardom!

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Startling, Welcome Discovery

As is typical with this kind of car, it wasn't until 2004 when its historical prominence was discovered. The new owners at that time commissioned former GM engineer and fuel-injection expert Ken Kayser to perform a forensic examination on the car, which is when they made a startling discovery.

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Race Inspired

Kaysar, along with several other noted Corvette experts, soon found that this particular car was actually a pilot vehicle for the Airbox induction system. RPO 579D was developed using knowledge gained during stints at Daytona and Sebring in early 1957.

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Vintage Cold Air

The Airbox system, of course, was nothing more than a fiberglass intake plenum on the driver-side inner fender. It channeled cooler, denser outside air in from an opening in the radiator bulkhead through an internal filter and along a rubberized duct to the Rochester fuel injection.

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Race Ready

Chevy built a grand total of 43 Airbox Corvettes, each designed for competition use. Thus, they all also came with the RPO 684 Heavy Duty Racing Suspension ("Big Brake") package and BorgWarner 4-speed manual transmission.

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Test Bed

The original owner of this particular car was Bill Howe - a racer and Chevy dealer from Middleton, Ohio. Howe proceeded to race the car in a number of SCCA events and even provided feedback that helped Chevy further develop their sintered metallic brake linings.

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Carry On

Over the years, this historic Corvette changed hands several times before it was finally rediscovered for what it truly was - the first of a very special breed. Today, we celebrate its survival and hope that the first-ever Airbox Corvette is around for many generations to come!

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