Evolution of the Corvette
Evolution of the CorvetteCorvette
In 1953 American design took a whole new twist when Chevy unveiled its sporty new design, the Corvette. When Chevy designed this car they looked to the European designs for some help. From 1953 to 1955 the Corvette embodied the best characteristics of the MG, Jaguar, and Porsche. This helped the Corvette to succeed because people in America were just starting to understand the sporty style of the European sports cars. One of the strange ideas Chevy borrowed from the Europeans was that the Corvette didn�t have roll up windows, or door handles on the outside. The only thing people didn�t really like about this car in its first two years, was the fact that the Corvette only had a six-cylinder engine producing around 150 horsepower. Fortunately this would be soon to change. In 1955 Chevy knew that they had to do something quick; mainly because of Fords release of the Thunderbird, their sports car. Chevy dropped a new engine into the Corvette, an eight cylinder with a Carter single four-barrel carburetor which was able to produce 195 horsepower, and shaved almost two seconds off the cars quarter mile time. Now, with the performance upgrades Chevy�s Corvette was ready for an all new look, and in 1956 Chevy did just that.
In 1956 Chevy decided to give the car a more luxurious feel on the inside, as well as increase the cars performance once again. The Corvette now had door handles, roll-up windows, with a power option, and an easier to use convertible. The Corvette also increased its horsepower to 210 hp, with 225 hp available through an optional dual four-barrel carburetor. This was also the first years that testers liked the all around performance of the Corvette. People were impressed by the speed of this new Corvette, able to reach 60 mph, in 5.7 seconds, which put it in a very select class. With these new, better handling, better performing Corvettes the car was introduced into the racing circuit, and performed rather well. In fact the Corvette placed first and second in the 1957 Sebring Twelve Hours.
Even with all of the success and attention the Corvette was getting, it became time for Chevy to give the Corvette a whole new look. In 1958 the car got an extensive makeover. The Corvette achieved its new look with an immense use of chrome, as well as a new quad headlight design. The Corvette also boasted a new engine that with all the options had horsepower ratings of around 315 hp. Even with these new, more powerful engines the Corvette was truly not as fast as the 1957 models. In 1961 the Corvette was touched up with a little restyling which people thought brought back the true essence of the sports car that started it all. In 1962 with a new look people...
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