In 1951, GM’s Design Chief Harley Earl was at Watkins Glen International Raceway to show off his new La Sabre concept when he had the vision of a low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe’s Jaguars, MGs, and Ferrari. Codenamed “Opel”, the very first prototype made its debut in January 1953 at the GM Motorama show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
The great reviews and public acclaim for the little white roadster prompted GM to fast-track the Corvette into production. Sixty-five years ago today on June 30, 1953, the world’s first production Corvette rolled off its Flint, Michigan assembly line.
Chevrolet built 300 Corvettes over the course of the 1953 model year. A uniform design allowed the workers to concentrate on putting the bodies together without being distracted by trim and equipment variations. Therefore, all 1953 Corvettes were Polo White with Sportsman Red interiors and equipped with a canvas soft-top, 6.70 x 15 whitewall tires and a Delco signal-seeking radio. Also standard was a 5,000-rpm tachometer and a counter for total engine revolutions.
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