Happy Birthday Corvette! America’s Favorite Sportscar Turns 62!

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Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sportscar Turns 62!


June 30, 1953 is the date that changed automotive history forever. It was sixty-two years ago today that the first Corvette rolled off an automotive assembly line and into the history books. That car was the 1953 Corvette and the place was a temporary automotive facility in Flint, Michigan.

The first Corvettes took a little over two days to be fully assembled. The uniform body allowed workers to concentrate on putting the bodies together without the distractions of trim and various options. The first Corvettes were all Polo White with Sportsmen Red interiors and they came with a black canvas soft top, 6.70 x 15 whitewall tires and a Delco signal-seeking radio. A triple-carb intake helped boost the power of the Blue Flame 6 cylinder engine and a two-speed automatic transmission was mounted on the floor for that authentic sports car feeling. The first Corvette could go 0-60 MPH in 11 seconds and had a top speed of 105 MPH.

Demand for the little sportscar was high after the EX-122 Corvette’s debut at the 1953 GM Motorama in New York City six months earlier. But getting one was nearly impossible unless your were a GM executive or a movie star. In fact, GM’s Central Office issued a notice that read “No dealer is in a position to accept firm orders for delivery of a Corvette in 1953”!

The first Corvettes were priced at $3,498 and if you bought one then and held it, you made a pretty good investment as these cars routinely sell for over $250,000 today!

Check out these photos we’ve gathered over the years of the first Corvette’s production and you can almost imagine the feeling of driving the first Chevrolet two-seater down the road.

Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!
Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today! Happy Birthday Corvette! America's Favorite Sports Car Celebrates its 61st Birthday Today!

Related:
Corvette Made its First Public Appearance 62 Years Ago at the 1953 Motorama
[PICS] Bloomington Gold 2014 – 1953 Corvette VIN 009
[EXCLUSIVE]: 1953 Corvette Engineering Test Videos from the GM Archives

 



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