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Corvette Fast-Facts

Corvette Fast-Facts

The Chevrolet Corvette is a genuine American icon. It has had the longest production run of any U.S. sports car and, to many, remains the quintessential American dream automobile. Below are a few basic facts about the Corvette's history and about the 1962 model we restored.

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	A GM technician demonstrates just how light the Corvette's fiberglass body is.
	The Corvette Indy pace car.

• The 1962 Corvette roadster restored in this workshop is from the model's earliest series -- termed the C1 series -- also known as the first generation of Corvettes. The C1 serie lasted from 1953 through 1962.

• The initial design of the Corvette was inspired by Jaguar's XK series.

• The Corvette made its debut in 1953. A mere 300 of them were made in that first production year.

• Sticker price for the original Corvette: $3500. It was available in one color combination: white with red interior.

• It took time for the Corvette's popularity to build. Though 3,000 were built in 1954, the production dropped back to only 700 in 1955. A restyling boosted the car's appeal, and by 1958 sales rose to more than 10,000. It has remained a success story ever since.

• Styling changes to the 1961 and 1962 established a new distinctive look for the sports roadster, with its "ducktail" rear end and rounded, contoured lines which foreshadowed the "Stingray era" which would begin in 1963. It was also the first appearance of the round taillights, something that has remained a Corvette trademark since that time.

• The all-fiberglass body has been another hallmark of the Corvette since its inception. The early fiberglass hulls were so light that an average man could hold one aloft with only one hand.

• In 1978, as Corvette celebrated its 25th anniversary, it was selected to be the pace car for the Indy 500. To mark those two events, Chevrolet produced two special edition 'Vettes -- the Pace Car Edition and the Silver Anniversary Edition.

• Whereas most American sports cars eventually fade away and are discontinued, or alternatively evolve into more stodgy "touring cars," Corvette has singularly maintained its pure sports-car integrity for more than 50 years.
  

  
  

• Series: C1

• Engine: Chevy V8; 327 cubic inches; 16 valves

• Transmission: 4-speed manual.

• Top horsepower: 360

• Sticker price: $3934

• Number produced: 14,531

• Top speed: 149.8 mph

• Zero-to-Sixty: 5.9 seconds

• 1/4-mile: 14.5 seconds; 104 mph

• Suspension: Solid axle design. (After 1962, the Corvette went to an independent rear-suspension design.)