On this date in Automotive History: June 12 1952 The First American Sports Car On this day in 1952, Maurice Olley, Chevrolet’s Chief Engineer, completed his chassis, code-named "Opel," which would eventually become the chassis for the 1953 Corvette. The Opel project had been initiated after Harley Earls’ General Motors (GM) design division created models and drawings for a new GM sports car. During testing, a prototype fiberglass car accidentally rolled during testing, with the car’s fiberglass roof remaining structurally intact, leading GM engineers to consider for the first time building an all fiberglass body for one of their cars. As project Opel moved forward, the new sports car took shape as a rear-engined, all fiberglass sportscar, the first in America. In July of 1952, the Corvette got its name after an extensive search through an English dictionary: A corvette was a small-sized, speedy warship of the British Royal Navy. In January of 1953 the Corvette was exhibited as a "dreamcar" at the Motorama Car Show in New York City. The first Corvette, a white convertible with red interior, drove off the assembly line on June 30, 1953. That year the car was produced in limited numbers, but full-scale production began the following year following Ford’s release of the T-Bird at the New York Auto Show in February. The small-car competition from Ford prompted Chevrolet officials to continue Corvette production, in spite of some misgivings due to lagging sales. In 1954 the Corvette was a failure, with some 3,500 cars sold and another 1,200 left unsold at year’s end. Chevy engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, initially brought on to develop the Corvette’s performance, urged his superiors not to admit defeat on the project and to instead create a separate department to oversee the development of the car. From this point forward Arkus-Duntov made turning the Corvette into a legitimate sports car his own personal challenge. He overhauled the engine and drive-shaft, and over the next two years minor adjustments were made to the car’s body and styling. By 1955, the Corvette, equipped with new suspension and a 195 horsepower engine, was tested in disguise at the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb, where it shattered the stock car record with Arkus-Duntov behind the wheel. In February of 1956 Arkus-Duntov drove a modified Corvette V-8 to a two-way stock car record of 150 miles per hour at the Daytona Raceway. While the Corvette would not surpass the T-Bird in sales during the 1950s, it would fulfill GM’s initial expectation in becoming the first American sports car.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:29:26 +0000
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