Corvette Trivia and Facts

Scott Oldham at Hagerty Media

Chevrolet has been pumping out Corvettes for 66 years, building about 1.5 million of them since 1953. That makes the Corvette one of the most popular sports cars of all time.

First- and second-generation Corvettes were one of the first true collectible cars of the modern era, and collecting Corvettes remains a global phenomenon. More than just another two-seat sports car, the Vette is an American icon. Theres a good reason its often referred to as Americas sports car, and every enthusiast should have at least a basic knowledge of its seven generations. So in case you need to brush up, here are 25 Corvette facts every enthusiast should know:

First Corvette with V-8 power: Although the very first production Corvette hit the streets in 1953, Chevy wouldnt replace its inline six-cylinder engine until 1955. That year, Chevy debuted its new optional 265-cubic-inch small-block V-8.

Those who bought the 1953 and 1954 Corvettes were disappointed with the car's performance. The engineers at General Motors introduced a "New-Improved" corvette which appeared in 1955 as the Corvette C1. It was a hit with the zippy new look and a slamming V-8 under the hood; it was the C1.

 

First Corvette coupe: All Corvettes produced from 1953–62 were convertibles. Then the C2 Corvette debuted in 1963 with two body styles, a convertible and a coupe with the famous split rear window. It was popular. Of the 21,513 Corvettes built that year, 10,594 were split-window coupes.

First Corvette with independent rear suspension: Also in 1963, the sports car’s 10th year of production, the C2 became the first Corvette with an independent rear suspension. The design incorporated a transverse leaf spring, and it has remained a part of the Corvette’s suspension design for the last 55 years.

First Corvette with fuel injection: In 1957 Chevy enlarged the Corvette’s small-block from 265 cubic inches to 283. Three versions were available, including the top-of the range “Fuelie” with the Ramjet mechanical fuel injection system. It was rated at one horsepower per cubic inch, a big deal at the time, and was the first fuel-injected production Corvette.

First Corvette with disc brakes: Although the Jaguar C-Type and D-Type won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1950s with disc brakes, Chevy wouldn’t add the technology to the production Corvette until 1965. Four-wheel discs became standard that year, but some buyers still insisted on the drums and received a $64.50 credit.

First big-block Corvette: Chevy also gave us the first big-block Corvette in 1965. The L78 396-cubic-inch V-8 had an iron block and heads, an aluminum intake manifold, solid lifters, and big Holley carburetor. It cost $292.70 and was installed in 2157 Corvettes. With 425 hp it was the most powerful Corvette up to that time.

First Corvette with triple carburetion: The first production Corvette with triple carburetion was the very first Corvette in 1953. The sports car’s 150-hp 235-cu-in Blue Flame Six, which remained through 1955 (it made 155 hp iits final year), drank through three one-barrel carbs. Triple carbs with three two-barrel units then returned in 1967 with the optional Tripower 427 big-blocks, the L68 rated at 400 hp and the L71 rated at 435 hp. Continue Reading the Full Article By Scott Oldham at Hagerty Media

More Corvette Trivia

From Capitol City Corvette Club and Hobby Car Corvettes,

William Durant, the founder of GM, said a wallpaper pattern he saw in a Paris hotel in 1908 inspired the bow tie logo. Supposedly, he ripped off a small piece of it and brought it back to Detroit.

The man who named the Corvette was Myron Scott Then Chevrolets Chief photographer. The Chevy Corvette was named after a small type of highly-maneuverable warship called a corvette. The same Myron Scott also happened to be the creator of the All-American Soap Box Derby.

The Jaguar XK120 is believed to have been the inspiration for the first Corvette.

The Corvette was the first and last car with a wrap-Around windshield.

Corvette was not the first to be made with a fiberglass body, but it was the first to be built by a company the size of Chevrolet.

Corvettes have been assembled in three different cities. Flint, St. Louis, and Bowling Green.

Turbojets first used on Corvette engine air cleaners with a horsepower rating of greater than 390hp.

1953 Covettes were hand-built, but production was moved to assembly lines for 1954 models, lowering the base price to the lowest the Corvette would ever see. $2,774.

The first Corvette pace car at the Indy was featured in 1978, the year of the corvettes 25th anniversary. One replica was produced for each Chevrolet dealership, totaling 6502.

Despite plans to the contrary, no 1983 Corvettes were ever released. Before the decision was made to skip this model year, 43 were produced. 42 were crashed in crashed tests or crushed. A single 1983 Vette was saved and is on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. According to some, there were actually 47 1983 corvettes produced, and a few more may actually still be in existence, but that debate has never been resolved.

Corvette Summer was released in 1978 and starred Mark Hamill. It told the story of a high school kid who built a radical Corvette in shop class and then spent the summer in Los Vegas searching for it after it was stolen.