The Chevrolet Corvette is manufactured by General Motors gone of its Bowling Developing, Ky., meeting plant. The Corvette debuted in 1953 and remains in Industry nowadays, attracting primarily the 40- to 65-year-old person demographic. The 1973 oil ban and America's shift to smaller fuel-efficient cars took the wind away of Corvette's sails and its popularity dropped. However by the 1990s, it re-emerged as a premier high-performance vehivle.
Origins
The Chevrolet Corvette was the brainchild of Harley Earl, Manager designer for General Motors. Earl conceived the idea behind the "concept car," the working prototype of automobiles considered for mass production. With the growing popularity of British-made roadsters, such as the MG T-Type and Triumph TR series, Earl sought to answer the British invasion with an American-made sports car.
1953 Corvette
The first Corvettes off the assembly line were not impressive cars mechanically, but Robert McLean, working under Earl, designed a beautiful car unlike any Detroit vehicle on the road. The new Corvette sold for about $2,000. The C6, which debuted in 2006, straightened Corvette's wandering course with an all-new suspension system, restyled body and exposed headlamps for the first time since the 1962 models.
Z06
The Z06 version also arrived for 2006 with a 505-horsepower 7-liter V-8 engine that could achieve 0-60 mph in just 3.9 seconds, with a quarter-mile speed of 11.8 seconds.Inspired by the symmetry of the stingray, assistant designer Larry Shinoda developed the Corvette Sting Ray with its flat front end, sharply defined fenders and a sleek split-window fastback. Shinoda's Sting Ray also was inspired by Mitchell's 1959 Sting Ray racing test car.
Third-Generation Corvette
Shinoda returned to the water for the third-generation models by basing the 1969 Corvette on his Mako Shark II concept car and designated it the Manta Ray. The new Corvette featured rounded fenders hanging tightly over the tires, a sloping, shark-liked nose, T-top removable roof panels for the coupe and a tunneled rear window. Engine options included the 325-cubic-inch and 424-ci big block V-8s.
C6 Model
Chevrolet designers seemed to have lost their zeal in design and engineering innovations in the 1970s and 1980s as rising fuel prices, the increasing popularity of Japanese imports and GM's pedestrian styling conspired to keep it from being a top-tier sports car. It featured a 102-inch wheelbase with an underpowered 150-horsepower straight six-cylinder engine along with a tepid two-speed automatic transmission. Its innovations focused on the fiberglass body to keep weight down and European-inspired styling.
Sting Ray
By the early 1960s, under new design director Bill Mitchell, GM's stylists couldn't curb their fascination with marine life like the Mako shark and stingray.Top speed is an electronically controlled 198 mph. Its remarkable speed is due to its primary aluminum construction instead of steel and its carbon fiber fenders.
ZR1
If the Z06 didn't provide enough power, then the 2008 ZR1 answered the road warrior's prayers. The ZR1 featured a supercharged 638-hp 6.2-liter engine with a top speed of 205 mph. It featured an adjustable suspension, carbon ceramic brakes and a premium interior package. The price tag was $100,000.
