[PIC] Corvette Makes First Public Appearance 61 Years Ago Today

Here’s EX-122, the 1953 Motorama Show car as it made its first public appearance 61 years ago today in New York City.

The Corvette was developed over 1952 and on January 17, 1953 it became the star of the GM Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Thousands of Americans lined up to see the little white and red two-seat sports car including Zora Arkus-Duntov. Zora was so taken with the car and its potential, he later wrote a letter to Chevy Chief Engineer Ed Cole which got him hired as an assistant staff engineer.

The Corvette went on tour for much of 1953 visiting towns and dealerships all across the country with an estimated 1.4 million people coming out to take a look at the roadster.

After doing duty as a show car, it returned to Detroit where it underwent testing and eventually it ended up in the possession of Russell Sanders who was head of the Experimental Division at GM. Russell sold the car to Jack Engle for $1,000 in 1959 and Engle owned the car until his death in 2001.

Today, EX-122 is owned by George Kerbeck, the owner of Kerbeck Corvette and it was restored and put on display inside the showroom at Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City, NJ.

Nearly 2 million Corvettes have been sold since it went on sale in 1953 and today Corvette is the longest-running, continually produced sports car in the world.

Source:
General Motors

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