| The Chevrolet Corvette, a Sportscar legend | | | | competitive race car of a good day to day |
| and a Auto Classic for ever, has somehow | | | | commuter by just selecting the right options. |
| survived inflated insurance rates; all types | | | | The Corvette could play either role very |
| of inane and meaningless safety legislation | | | | well. Performance was the trend in the late |
| and engine pollution add ons. The Chevrolet | | | | 1950's and early 1960's. One of the biggest |
| Corvette has been universally accepted as the | | | | controversies of the day was which was faster |
| measure of a high performance sports car. | | | | - a Corvette with dual four barrel carbs or |
| Cars come and go, new model of cars emerge | | | | one with fuel injection. Corvette owners were |
| and disappear and yet the Corvette lives on. | | | | buying the high performance versions and |
| No car has been able to cover as many aspects | | | | putting them to good use at weekend drags and |
| of the high performance sport as the | | | | the novice road events. There were metallic |
| Corvette. The versatility of this fantastic | | | | brake and sway bar options for the sporty |
| automobile has appealed to all age groups and | | | | set. And although the suspensions system was |
| has kept the ownership of a Corvette, a most | | | | a conglomeration of early passenger car |
| prestigious thing. The Corvette has gone | | | | parts, the low center of gravity and near |
| through many changes in its lifetime, | | | | equal weight distribution made these cars |
| including every custom and hot rod trend | | | | handle well. The 50/50 weight distribution |
| going. It has a miracle that the Corvette has | | | | did not hurt the drag racers one bit either, |
| remained a true high performance sports car | | | | and they won more than their share. When 1963 |
| and did not mature into a two plus two sedan | | | | happened, it brought with it a real change in |
| as did Ford's Thunderbird. The Corvette was | | | | the Corvette. The new body style called the |
| in the on the beginnings of the fast car era. | | | | "Sting Ray" was unavailable in a fastback |
| In the mid 50's people wanted fast cars, and | | | | version commonly referred to as a "coupe" and |
| by 1957 the Corvette was leading the pack. | | | | in the traditional roadster version with a |
| Hot rodding owes a big debt to the Corvette; | | | | removable hardtop. The Sting Ray had much |
| it was responsible for almost all of the | | | | cleaner lines than its predecessors and even |
| higher performance parts ever to come from | | | | featured retractable headlights. With the |
| Chevrolet. Four speed transmissions, dual | | | | change in body style, the suspension was |
| quad intake manifolds and hot solid lifter | | | | vastly improved with a new independent rear |
| camshafts. One of the big contributions to | | | | suspension assembly and updated steering |
| the Corvette's success story was the variety | | | | gear. It still had the performance of the |
| of options that were offered. Ever since | | | | older cars, including the Rochester fuel |
| 1956, there had been the choice of a standard | | | | injected 327 cubic inch engine, rated at 360 |
| of high performance automatic transmission. | | | | horsepower. The Chevrolet Corvette is |
| Each car could be tailored into a semi | | | | certainly an American Sportscar Classic. |