Although initially starting out on shaky grounds, 70 years later the Corvette name is still going strong
We’re kicking off a celebration of 70 iconic years of Corvettes, and we even have a special offer for the occasion – for a limited time only, subscribe for just £10!
Corvette was first introduced in January of 1953 as a concept vehicle at the General Motors Autorama in New York City.
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Thanks to the positive response it saw at Autorama, it quickly went into production, with the first Corvette rolling off the production line in Flint, Michigan on June 30th 1953.
All 1953 models were Polo White with a red interior and they were priced at $3,498. However, at the time the Corvette was not an immediate success, with sales so underwhelming that for a time it seemed that the model may be cancelled altogether.
That makes the early Corvettes a rare breed indeed, especially in Britain. (But keep your eyes on the Classic American website for a look at an early 1954 C1.)
Despite a rocky start, the Corvette became iconic. In 2006, the third 1953 Corvette produced sold for a record $1.06 million at auction.
The 500,000th Corvette was built in 1977; the 1 millionth was built in 1992, and the 1.5 millionth Corvette rolled off the line in 2009.
In January of this year, exactly 70 years after the Corvette debuted at Motorama in New York, Chevrolet returned to introduce the first-ever electrified Corvette, the 2024 E-Ray.
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