On June 30, 1953, exactly 69 years ago, the first Corvette, a vehicle destined to become a cult car, came off the assembly line of the Chevrolet plant.

The idea to create a two-seater sports car arose after the end of World War II, when soldiers returning from Europe began to bring to the United States stylish European cars – MG, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo. Even the program to create a prototype of a new car was called Project Opel, because from 1929 to 2017, the German Opel was part of the American General Motors.

The first generation Chevrolet Corvette, the C1, was produced from 1953 to 1962. The initial cost of the car in 1953 was $3,513 ($35,580 in 2021 prices). Now the eighth generation of “Corvettes” is coming off the assembly line – Chevrolet Corvette (C8), the production of which began in 2020.

Photo of the day: 1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1

By the way, Corvette were very popular with NASA astronauts first sets. Such cars were driven by Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper and others. Chevrolet even offered astronauts two new cars each year, which were sold at the price of used cars. These NASA Corvettes can be seen both in the original film The Right Stuff (1983) and the 2020 series based on it, as well as in the series For All Mankind (2019).

Photo from the Chevrolet archive.
The model advertises a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 against the background of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The first 1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 came off the assembly line at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan. Only 300 Corvettes were assembled in 1953. All white with a red interior.

Photo of the day: 1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1