Evolution of the Corvette

A detailed Summary of Evolution of the Corvette

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 t

Even with the awesome new power the car possessed the exterior of the car was in need of a change. In 1968 Chevy remodeled the Corvette. Much of the car's new styling evolved from Bill Mitchell's 1965 Mako Shark II concept car. More than a visual tease for auto shows in '65, it was actually a trial balloon to test public reaction to the Corvette's proposed new shape. In 1969 Chevy changed the name of the Corvette Sting Ray to the Corvette Stingray it was a subtle change in the name, but the '69 Corvette 427 was one of the greatest Corvettes ever. There were many engine types for this car, but the coolest of the cool for '69 (aside from the nearly unobtainable L-88) had to be the L-71, rated at 435 gross horsepower and packing three-count 'em, three-two-barrel carburetors. This was truly a big year for the Corvette, in fact on November 7th the 250,000 Corvette rolls off the production line, a gold convertible. The future for the Corvette looked promising, but unfortunately this was the beginning of the end for the Corvette.

horsepower. This was an embarrassment to a car that was once known for speed. It would be a long time before the Corvette was looked at as a car of excellence, but it would happen.

The 1998 Corvette was selected as Motor Trends Car of the Year for 1998, showing that the new Corvette has what it takes to live up to the high standards of the Corvette name. Now with the greater technologies that Chevy has to work with they can focus on making the Corvette the best once again. The new Corvettes are already fast, but not fast enough according to Chevy engineers. Right now Chevy is working on a high performance Corvette at a somewhat affordable price. These Corvettes may be called the Corvette H.O. (High Output). These super Vettes still have the LS-1 engine under its hood, but it has been bored out to fit Diamond aluminum pistons. With all new pistons as well as a few other goodies hidden beneath the outer body of these Corvettes, the tweaked all-aluminum engine cranked out 443 horsepower, marking a 98-horse gain over the stock LS-1. Torque climbed 69 pound-feet, peaking at 419 at 5000rpm. This high performance engine helps catapult the Corvette to 60mph in 4.4 seconds. With these Corvettes Chevy reminds us that Corvettes are made to fulfill any drivers need for speed on the racetrack or on the road.

The problems that the Corvette was facing were new strict laws on emissions, that made it hard for designers to give the car the power it needed. Another factor influencing car companies to tone down their high powered cars was the increasing price of gasoline. By 1973 the car still had its beautiful body, but it had lost its soul, now only holding 270 horsepower. This was a far cry from its 435 horsepower of just a few years earlier. It was obvious that the high power days of the Corvette were over. This was a sad day for sports car enthusiasts everywhere. The Corvette would endure but the road leading to the next hig

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Approximate Word count = 2012
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History