Daily Slideshow: St. Patrick's Day Celebrates Green Corvettes
All 1953 Corvettes were white, and most Corvettes are red, but because of the British, green is also a popular sports car color. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, let's look back at some of the different greens that have graced the flanks of the Vette.
1957 Corvette in Cascade Green
Cascade Green is not really much of a green and is more of an aquamarine or blue, but GM called it green so here it is. This color first appeared in 1956 and lasted only until 1957. Later (in 1960) an unrelated color also went by the same name, while a Tasco Turquoise was offered which almost matched the old hue. Perhaps no other color offered at the time is more indicative of the 1950s than this green.
1960 Corvette in Cascade Green
In 1960 Cascade Green returned, in name only. This new green was much closer to a metallic mint color, which was very popular in the 1960s. However, Corvette only kept this option around for a year, before dropping it again for 1961. Green would not return to the Corvette palate for 5 more years.
1965 Corvette in Glen Green
Glen Green was a rich, dark green that in some lights could appear nearly black. The dark metallic green, especially when paired with a tan top, lent the Vette some of the design of the Jaguar E-type with its traditional British Racing Green. While the Corvette may not have offered a V12 under the hood, it did have a big block 396 V8 available.
1966 Corvette in MoSport Green
MoSport Green was not too far away from the 1960 Cascade Green, but is more metallic, and has more silver in it. You almost couldn't pick a green further away from the dark Glen Green offered just a year before. MoSport was a race track in Ontario, Canada, that hosted sports car racing, though there is no record on its Wikipedia page of Corvettes doing particularly well.
1967 Corvette in Goodwood Green
Ironically, the last sports car race at Goodwood Circuit was the year before it became a color you could order on your Corvette. Goodwood green is slightly lighter than the dark Glen green and is in fact very nearly British Racing Green, which makes sense since that is where Goodwood is located.
1968 Corvette in British Green
Finally, in 1968, Chevrolet just came right out and said it: This is British Green, officially. This color looks great on the all-new 1968 body style's curves and is about halfway between Glen Green and Goodwood Green.
1969 Corvette in Fathom Green
1969 saw the third different dark green offered on Corvette in three years, and ask anyone who knows, all three are slightly different. Fathom Green is not quite as dark as British Green and looks more mossy and organic. All three of these paints has a unique code, so for a factory correct paint job, it is important to know which you are getting.
1970 Corvette in Donneybrooke Green
Yet another iteration of Chevrolet British Racing Green, this one called Denney broke, and yes that is the correct spelling of the color name. And yes, if we are talking about British green, that is the correct spelling of color. in 1971 was a nearly identical color, but it has yet another code and name; Brands Hatch Green.
1972 Corvette in Elkhart Green
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin isn't just the RV capital of America, it is also home to Road America, one of the oldest racecourses in the country. Breaking away from the British Racing Green colors of the past few years Chevrolet applied a uniquely American green to its unique sports car in 1972 and 73. Brands Hatch Green returned in 1973, only now called Blue Green, and in 1975 Dark Green was offered, which was very similar to Fathom Green, but a different paint number.
1975 Corvette in Bright Green
1975 saw the introduction of one of the best green paint color Corvette has ever offered, called simply Bright Green. In recent years a similar color was offered on the boxy Scion xB, and the 5th generation Camaro, but it didn't look like it does on the C3 Vette. This was a one year only color, oddly enough.
1982 Corvette in Silver Green
At the end of the C3 era Chevrolet offered a unique Silver Green paint, which could be had with a matching interior. It was not very popular and you seldom see them around today in their original colors. There were other greens between 1975 and 1982 as well. In 1974, 76, 79 and 80 Chevrolet offered the Corvette in Dark Green, and all 4 are different paint codes (actually 2 in 1976) but all pretty much the same color. In 1977 there is a mythical Chartreuse painted Corvette, only one, and no one knows how, why or where it is now.
2014 in Lime Rock Green
Lime Rock Green was a paint option available in 2014 for the C7 model of the Corvette. Green Corvettes have historically not been the lusted after by buyers and this edition was no different. LRG really looks great in the sunlight but unfortunately, the color only garnered about 3% of all 2014 C7s ordered that year. Some cite that the LRGs were tough to get into because they were often saddled with high priced premium packages or people just didn't like the interior colors in them. A good number of enthusiasts lamented the LRG when it wasn't available for 2015 models, but as the saying goes, you don't know what you've got til it's gone.
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