| Harley Earl was an automobile design expert | | | | |
| at Chevrolet who noticed the influx of small | | | | Then came Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Russian |
| European sports cars into the United States | | | | émigré and engineer who found a home at |
| after World War II. He knew there was a | | | | Chevrolet, and a project in the Corvette. In |
| market for a two-seat roadster and convinced | | | | 1955, Chevrolet introduced its first V8 |
| Chevrolet to introduce their own version: The | | | | engine. Arkus-Duntov redesigned the V8 |
| Chevrolet Corvette. | | | | especially for the Corvette and placed the |
| | | | bigger, more powerful motor into the |
| In 1953, the first Corvette's were unveiled. | | | | small-bodied car. He also replaced the old |
| The cars were unique in their construction. | | | | two-speed "powerglide" automatic with a |
| Instead of the steel bodies common for the | | | | 3-speed manual transmission. Suddenly the |
| time, the Corvette was actually built from a | | | | Corvette was no longer just a pretty face. |
| much lighter material-fiberglass. This | | | | The Corvette became a legitimate competitor |
| innovation, combined with its Earl-designed | | | | for the other major U.S. sports car, Ford's |
| appearance, however, was still not enough to | | | | Thunderbird, and its popularity soared |
| make the car an overnight success. | | | | dramatically. Arkus-Duntov is often |
| | | | considered the father of the Corvette due to |
| At the time, Chevrolet was known for | | | | his line-saving alterations. |
| producing inexpensive, but unexciting | | | | |
| vehicles. The Corvette, despite its sex | | | | Over fifty years later, Corvette remains a |
| styling and innovative construction was "just | | | | leading name is sports cars and is currently |
| another Chevy" at heart, and lacked the | | | | offering its sixth generation of products, |
| performance sports car enthusiasts craved. | | | | including a rumored high performance model |
| The original Corvettes featured a | | | | known as the Blue Demon. |
| less-that-impressive V6, a two-speed | | | | |
| automatic transmission, and a brake system | | | | The Corvette is now known as the "poor man's |
| taken directly from the regular Chevy line. | | | | super car" and is noted for its relative |
| In essence, the original Corvette was a | | | | affordability and impressive reliability |
| sports car in appearance alone. Sales lagged | | | | records. |
| and there was even talk of discontinuing | | | | |
| Earl's pet project after a few years. | | | | But before there was a Blue Demon, a Z06, or |
| | | | any of the Corvette C classes that sports car |
| Sales were simply too low. Although the | | | | enthusiasts love today, there was Harley Earl |
| fiberglass design wowed potential buyers and | | | | and a cute design with a V6 they called the |
| critics within the sports car industry and | | | | Corvette. Chevrolet embraced the idea of a |
| the appearance of the Corvette was beyond | | | | truly American sports car, and with the help |
| reproach, the car simply lacked the kind of | | | | of a Russian émigré, built one of the |
| performance those searching for a true sports | | | | most popular and lasting sports car labels in |
| car expected to find. | | | | the world. |