It was 63 years ago today, June 30, 1953, that the first production Corvettes rolled down Chevrolet’s Flint, Michigan assembly line. Little did they know then what they had started. The first cars were simple enough, as they came without options (technically there were 2 options, but you could not order a car without them). You could only get the new fiberglass sportsters in white with a red interior, a 235 ci “Blue Flame” inline-six with a whopping 150hp, Powerglide 2-speed automatic, heater and AM, signal seeking, radio.
Only 300 largely hand-built cars were made the inaugural year, but after a few tweaks the Corvette gained acceptance, and speed. A V8 was added in 1955 to give the Sportster the power people asked for and in 1956 there was a styling update that added roll up windows.
Here are two fun videos to watch:
The commercial for the 1953 Corvette:
Video of building the first Corvettes