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Rome wasn’t built in a day, and, similarly, the dream of developing a world class American sports car took time and effort. Harley Earl and Ed Cole gave Corvette a push start, and Zora Arkus Duntov took the Plastic Fantastic into orbit, based on the combination of excellent design and hardware, as well as the racing achievements that followed.
Once established, the Corvette became a Chevrolet icon, utilised by Bow Tie and GM marketing to benefit the automaker. However, Corvette was no loss leader, it earned its keep and the respect of industry commentators. The Corvette maintained all these qualities despite the triple whammy of insurance rate hikes, emissions controls and fuel crises, and survived into the ’80s with a fresh design that took on all sports car competitors.
Archive images, independent testing, and the viewpoints of Chevrolet and auto industry personalities illustrate the rise and rise of America’s only sports car, including a substantial mid-engine genesis. Marc Cranswick’s original commentary pays homage to the Corvette as an enduring glamor icon and the ultimate dream machine!
Chapter 1 Humble Origins - Corvette 1953-55
Chapter 2 Corvette – The Rising Star 1956-58
Chapter 3 An accent on refinement 1959-62
Chapter 4 Corvette Sting Ray 1963-65
Chapter 5 Mid-Year Corvette Big Blocks & Racing
Chapter 6 Makovette 1968-70
Chapter 7 Modified Rapture 1971-74
Chapter 8 From Flying Buttress to Fastback 1975-79
Chapter 9 The New Old Corvette 1980-82
Chapter 10 – The New 1984 Corvette
Chapter 11 C4 Corvette – Beyond L98 350
Appendix A: GM Y, F & P body
Appendix B: Corvette sales, service & groups
Appendix C: Corvette Big Block Quartet – performance tables