The Chevrolet Corvette is a 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible/roadster from Chevrolet, built from 1953, at the height of the post-war boom.
The story
The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance, distinctive styling, lightweight fiberglass or composite bodywork, and competitive pricing. The Corvette has had domestic mass-produced two-seater competitors fielded by American Motors, Ford, and Chrysler; it is the only one continuously produced by a United States auto manufacturer. It serves as Chevrolet's halo car. In 1953, GM executives accepted a suggestion by Myron Scott, then the assistant director of the Public Relations department, to name the company's new sports car after the corvette, a small, maneuverable warship.
Initially a relatively modest, lightweight six-cylinder convertible, subsequent introductions of V8 engines, competitive chassis innovations, and eventually rear mid-engined layout have gradually moved the Corvette upmarket and made it more sporty. In 1963, the second generation was introduced in coupe and convertible styles. The first three Corvette generations (1953–1982) employed body-on-frame construction, and since the C4 generation, introduced in 1983 as an early 1984 model, Corvettes have used GM's unibody Y‑body platform. All Corvettes used front mid-engine configuration for seven generations, through 2019, and transitioned to a rear mid-engined layout with the C8 generation. Initially manufactured in Flint, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette has been produced in B
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible/roadster. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Its place in the line
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Flint, Michigan. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Cadillac Eldorado, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Chevrolet catalogue sit the Chevrolet Adra and the Chevrolet C-10.
What it costs now
The money question first: $16,600–$67,100 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $3,795–$7,120 a year. Insurance sits around $1,610–$4,100 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.