In an industry that changes its mind more often than a politician running for re-election, the Chevrolet Corvette has steered the same course as America’s sports car for 50 years, making it one of the world’s most recognizable automobiles.
Whether the original 1953 roadster, a 1963 Sting Ray split-window coupe or a 1993 ZR-1, most people instantly know it’s a Corvette.
Only a handful of other model names have survived longer, among them the Chevrolet Suburban, which dates to 1935, and the Cadillac DeVille, which arrived in 1949.
Scores of other cars have disappeared or morphed into something else, while Corvette has stayed true to its roots as a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive sports car.
Corvette has cruised through two fuel crises, survived attacks by safety advocates and the insurance industry and outlasted a procession of domestic and foreign rivals.
Ford followed Corvette with the 1955 Thunderbird, which soon took a different route. Within three years the Thunderbird grew from two seats to four to broaden its appeal, later added four doors and eventually lost every link to the original except the name.
Ford resurrected the Thunderbird roadster in 2001 as a luxury cruiser, but sales failed to meet expectations, and the car is destined for a second retirement in a few years.
Corvette, meanwhile, rolls along as an automotive icon. Chevrolet built the 1 millionth ‘Vette in 1993 and will roll out the sixth generation in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
“There are three things that keep Corvette alive after 50 years,” says Dave Hill, chief engineer of the Corvette since 1992. “One is value. Corvette still has outstanding value for what you get. The others are its tremendous performance and a passionate design that is timeless. It doesn’t wear out quickly.”
Since its inception, it has been a blue-collar Ferrari, priced well above run-of-the-mill Chevrolets yet within reach of the modestly affluent and alluring enough to appeal to the very rich.
“We have owners who have worked a lifetime to be able to afford a Corvette, and we have those who can afford to buy anything they want,” Hill says.
Base price on the 2003 coupe is around $44,000 and the “extreme performance” Z06 is $52,000, versus $81,000 for the Dodge Viper, its main domestic rival. Hill says Chevrolet has no plans to move into Viper price territory with the next generation, due next year as a 2005 model.
“When we introduced the Z06 in 2001, we forecast it would be about 15 percent of sales, but it has turned out to be 25 percent. People who want the best are willing to pay more, but we’re not going to get giddy and really move the price up because of that,” Hill said.
One concern is volume. Jacking up the price would put the car out of reach of more buyers and make it harder to justify Corvette, which has sold 30,000 to 34,000 units in each of the last four years.
Another reason for the price ceiling on Corvette is that the sixth generation–internally designated C6–will share major engineering features with the Cadillac XLR, a $76,000 two-seat roadster that arrives in summer. Maintaining a significant price gap makes it less likely one will steal sales from the other, what the industry calls “cannibalizing.”
The 2005 Corvette will share its basic design with the XLR to reduce cost and generate higher volume from the same platform. That idea was kicked around as a cost-saving measure some 20 years ago, when John DeLorean was in charge of Chevrolet.
“DeLorean tried to find a joint platform to build the ‘Vette on and suggested the ‘Vette, Camaro and Firebird be built off the same platform,” recalls Dave McClellan, Corvette chief engineer from 1975 until he retired in 1992. “But they were different and distinct cars that didn’t meld together and his idea didn’t work, and it never happened.”
Long before then, when Ford bulked up Thunderbird to a four-passenger car in a quest for more volume and profit, some within GM suggested similar treatment for the Corvette. GM even showed a four-seat Corvette Impala coupe concept car in 1956.
However, McClellan says GM’s top management recognized Corvette’s role as a “halo” sports car that cast a glow over the rest of Chevrolet’s lineup and rejected ideas to make it more mainstream.
“No one gave us a hard time because they recognized that low volume and a limited audience was a given, that this wasn’t a Cavalier for heaven’s sake, that it was meant for sales of 25,000 to 40,000 annually and not 1 million units,” McClellan said.
“As for profit, oh, yeah, they complained about that, but the only way to solve the profit problem was to cut cost or raise the price. So over the years, we raised the price and that settled down complaints about profit by a bit.”
GM unveiled the Corvette at its 1953 Motorama, a traveling display of “dream cars” and technology, and the racy-looking roadster with a toothy grille and fiberglass body received rave reviews.
Chevrolet hurried the original into production that year, but McClellan says early quality gaffes nearly killed the car, which debuted with a $3,498 base price.
“The ’53-’54 original Vettes came to market with great euphoria, but the car basically bombed because of quality,” McClellan said. “It was rushed to market to come out a year earlier than planned. But the consequence was serious problems with such things as body and panel fits and painting the plastic body.”
The early models also survived despite a modest 6-cylinder engine (Chevy did not offer a V-8 at the time), when any number of alternatives were available with a V-8. Chevrolet’s famed small-block V-8 became available in 1955, and since 1956 all Corvettes have come with V-8s.
Performance first
Talk to Corvette owners and the discussion turns to performance.
“I don’t race, but I like the speed, I like the acceleration,” says Bruce Johnson, chief operating officer of an electronics firm in west suburban La Fox, who commutes about 100 miles round trip daily from his home in Long Grove. “But it’s also the price-value.”
Johnson paid roughly $52,000 for his burgundy 2003 Corvette 50th anniversary model and can’t see spending $100,000 for a Porsche 911 or twice that for a Ferrari.
“I don’t think you’re going to get much more out of a car like that,” he said. “Why would I want to spend $100,000 or $250,000 when I get so much in a Corvette?”
Johnson became hooked as a teenager when his boss gave him a ride in a Corvette with a 427-cubic-inch engine.
“I fell in love with it, but couldn’t afford it,” he remembers.
He bought his first in 1984 and has owned several since. Until last year, he drove Corvettes year-round, though he acknowledged the wide tires made for “tough sledding” in the winter.
“Now, if it rains, I don’t drive it,” he said of his 50th anniversary model. “It gets dirty.”
Don Buchholz, a vice president and medical director for Baxter Healthcare Corp., was in medical school when he bought his first Corvette, a 1967 Sting Ray coupe with 425 horsepower that was stolen twice. The second time, he didn’t get it back, but he remained devoted to the breed.
He has a Z06 for street use and an older model with a 750-horsepower engine for racing. The Z06 packs 405 h.p., and Buchholz says, “It needs another 150.”
Besides the performance, Buchholz says Corvette appeals with its styling and handling–the ability to zip around turns–and he, too, cites the price.
“I’m sure there are cars that are faster and handle better, but I don’t know if there is anything comparable for the price,” he said.
Chevrolet has said little about the 2005 Corvette, but spy photographs of test models indicate the styling will be evolutionary and rumors persist that it will have more power.
“We’re doing our best to keep the suspense until we unveil the car,” Hill said of the C6. It won’t be retro or a “heritage” model like the Thunderbird or 2005 Ford Mustang.
“People are getting a little carried away with retro. We could easily have done that Corvette,” he said. “We respect our heritage but we’re always looking for the next breakthrough, always looking to the next Corvette, not to the past.”
Comparison with Viper
Hill also brushes off assertions by Viper owners and Dodge that the Viper is the top American performance car.
“I wouldn’t say that. Viper can put down some big straight-line numbers, but in overall performance and balance on a racetrack, the Z06 does very well. We think the totality of the car is better than the individual numbers,” he said.
McClellan, the retired chief engineer, says Corvette’s steady course makes it one of the top sports cars in the world.
“Will there always be a ‘Vette? Actually, there’s no reason for it to disappear,” he said. “Three makes of sports cars have survived over the years, Ferrari, Porsche and Corvette. The Japanese have been in and out and come and gone but haven’t survived like these three have.”
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Significant events inhistory of Corvette
1953 A Corvette concept is displayed as a “dream car,” akin to today’s concepts, in January in New York.
– First Corvette rolls off assembly line in Flint, Mich., June 30, one of a production run of 300.
– Production moves from Flint to St. Louis in December.
1955 For the first time a V-8 is available, a 265-ci, 195-h.p. option. Also for the first time, transmission is a 3-speed manual.
1956 265-ci, 210-h.p. V-8 standard; removable hardtop and rollup windows introduced.
1957 Fuel injection and 4-speed manual transmission available as options.
1960 Annual production hits 10,261, topping 10,000 for first time.
1961 Horsepower tops 300 in optional 283-ci, 315-h.p., fuel-injected V-8. Signature taillamp deisgn with four round lights debuts.
1962 Last year of first generation is also last year of exposed headlights, solid rear axle and exterior access to trunk.
1963 Second generation bows with design based on Bill Mitchell’s 1959 “Sting Ray,” a racing version of the Corvette. Available as convertible or coupe. Leather seats, power windows/steering/brakes available.
1964 Split-window design is dropped on coupe to improve driver’s vision. Air-conditioning available.
1965 First big-block engine in Corvette is an optional 396-ci, 425-h.p. V-8. Four-wheel disc brakes are standard.
1966 425-h.p. V-8 grows to 427-ci, and standard V-8 achieves 300 h.p. for first time.
1967 Corvette reaches 435 h.p. in triple-carburetor, 427-ci V-8.
1968 Swoopy styling appears as third generation debuts. Targa tops are a first on a production car. Engines carried over from ’67 model.
1969 250,000th Corvette, a gold convertible, rolls off production line in November. “Stingray” shortened to one word.
1970 Corvette’s biggest engine is an optional 454-ci, 390-h.p. V-8. Standard transmission is now a 4-speed manual.
1971 Engines designed to run on unleaded fuel. 454-ci V-8 now achieves 425 h.p.
1972 Corvette calculates horsepower as net rather than gross, accounting for power lost to accessories and exhaust, a practice that would soon become the industry standard. Standard 350-ci V-8 rated at 200 h.p.; 454-ci V-8 rated at 270.
1974 Last year of the 454-ci V-8; first year with one-piece lap-and-shoulder safety belts.
1975 Chevy builds 4,629 convertibles, along with 33,836 coupes, in last year for droptop until 1986.
1977 500,000th Corvette, white coupe with red interior, is built in March. “Stingray” designation dropped. Rarest option is trailering package, with only 289 takers.
1978 Corvette paces Indianapolis 500 for first time in 25th anniversary year. Fastback body style added.
1979 Production hits all-time high of 53,807. AM/FM radio becomes standard.
1981 Production moves to Bowling Green, Ky., June 1.
1982 Standard horsepower rises to 200 in 350-ci V-8. Hatchback added.
1983 No model is offered to public, though 43 1983 Corvettes are built as pre-production prototypes for fourth generation. 1984 Corvette goes on sale in March. 750,000th Corvette produced in October.
1984 Wedge-shaped fourth generation bows with digital gauge package. Coefficient of drag is 0.34, a 24 percent aerodynamic improvement.
1986 Convertible returns, and ‘Vette paces Indy 500 for second time.
1989 6-speed manual transmission, tire-pressure gauge are optional.
1990 Horsepower in ZR-1 (the “King of the Hill”) is 375 in 5.7-liter V-8; standard 5.7-liter achieves 250 horsepower. Driver’s-side air bag standard.
1992 Standard 5.7-liter V-8 achieves 300 h.p. 1 millionth ‘Vette, a white convertible with red interior, rolls off assembly line in July as ’93 model.
1993 ZR-1 horsepower up to 405.
1994 National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green opens in September.
1995 Corvette paces Indy 500 for third time; 448 ZR-1s are built in its last year.
1997 Fifth generation bows with 5.7-liter, 345-h.p. V-8. Coefficient of drag drops to 0.29 in redesign.
1998 Separate trunk with outside access returns on convertible. ‘Vette paces Indy 500 for fouth time.
1999 Fixed-roof “hardtop” version with separate trunk bows. Coupe version maintains fastback styling with Targa tops and no trunk.
2001 High-performance Z06, named for a racing version of the ’63 Sting Ray, bows in the hardtop version with a 5.7-liter, 385-h.p. V-8.
2002 Z06 5.7-liter achieves 405 h.p. ’03 anniversary model paces 2002 Indy 500.
2003 Corvette celebrates 50th anniversary.
Sources: GM, www.corvettemuseum.com
The lineage
Chevrolet is preparing a 6th-generation Corvette as its two-seat sports car celebrates its 50th anniversary. Here is a look at the previous five, and what made each notable:
First generation, 1953-1962
Corvette arrives as an American roadster with a fiberglass body and 150-horsepower, inline 6-cylinder engine. It’s available as a convertible only, and in the first year of production, all Corvettes are white with red interior. Production steadily climbs from 300 the first year to more than 10,000 by 1960.
Second generation, 1963-1967
The 1963 year introduces the “Sting Ray” designation, as the redesign is based on a 1959 race car of that name. ‘Vette is now available as a coupe or convertible.
Third generation, 1968-1982
The golden age of the Corvette, as production grows to a high of 53,807 in 1979. Swoopy styling that defines the Corvette is introduced in 1968, along with T-tops, a first for a production car. Convertible is dropped after 1975 model year.
Fourth generation, 1984-1996
Production delays cause Chevy to skip the 1983 model year, but a more aerodynamic, wedge-shaped ‘Vette appears in ’84. Convertible returns in 1986. “King of the Hill,” the ZR-1 ‘Vette with 375 h.p., appears in 1990 and stays through 1995.
Fifth generation, 1997-current
Redesign brings back curves while making the car more aerodynamic, and standard horsepower rises to 345 in 1997, from 300 the year before. Z06 bows in 2001 with 385 h.p. and grows to 405 in 2002.
Source: General Motors
1953 Corvette convertible
Wheelbase: 102 inches
Length: 167.3 inches
Height: 51.5 inches
Weight: 2,886 pounds
Engine: 235-ci inline 6-cylinder
Horsepower: 150 (gross)
Transmission: Powerglide automatic
Tires: 6.7×15 inches
Fuel tank capacity: 18 gallons
Price: $3,498
Other: Only available options were a heater ($91.40) and an AM radio ($145.15); all 300 copies were white with a red interior and black canvas top; 255 accounted for today.
Source: GM, www.corvettemuseum.com
