Corvette debuted in January 1953 as a production-ready Motorama show car, culminating a 30 month development effort between the legendary designer Harley Earl and Chevrolet Engineering. Enthusiastic public response prompted management to okay production of the 2 seat roadster. Production commenced June 30, 1953.
The Corvette’s 102 inch wheel base was identical with that of the Jaguar XK120, one of Earl’s favorite cars. The chassis was basically a cut-down Chrevrolet passenger car frame, though with many changes.
Body construction was fiberglass – a first for a series production car by a major manufacturer.
Unfortunately, there were problems with both marketing missteps and in production. Sales weren’t very good.
Only 315 were built for ’53 and most of those were reserved for promotion and VIPs.
See and learn more at FiftiesWeb – Chevy 1950-54 and Chevy 1955-59