Corvette History - The Second Generation

Chevrolet started the production of the first corvette in 1953 which makes the corvette the first true American made sports car. Chevrolet has since released six different generations of the ever popular corvette called C1 – C6. The C6 is presently in production.

The first generation of Corvettes, C1, was made between 1953 and 1962. In 1963 it was replaced by the C2. The C2 was the first corvette generation to feature a Corvette Sting Ray coupe. This generation was designed by Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda – Larry Shinoda – and was styled by Bill Mitchell. This generation of the corvette became an instant classic and the work of Larry Shinoda and Bill Mitchell is responsible for a large part of the popularity of the Sting Ray, the Mako Shark and other classic corvettes.

There are many other reasons that these cars became the classics they are today. There is the fact that they where the first all American made sport car which made them appealing in a patriotic age. There is also the fact that they where truly great sports cars with a lot of power. The 1963 corvette had a 365 hp engine (272 kW), and that’s was only the beginning. Each new model grew a little more powerful.

The C2 corvette was however always more than a power house and offered a comfortable ride for a sports car. This was partly due to the independent rear suspension in the C2s. You could also right from the start buy the C2 Corvette with a number of extras that raises the ride comfort even more such as air conditioning and AM-FM radio.

The C2 was originally designed with a split rear window design but that design was discontinued in 1964 since it was suspected to be unsafe. In 1965 the C2 corvette made another safety motivated change when they introduced four-wheel disc brakes which improved the braking capacity. This was also the year when they introduced the so called “big-block” engine option, the 6.5 L V8 (6.5 L =396 in³). The 1965 corvette C2 was the first C2 with side exhaust pipes. This design was used until 1970.

The C2s really started to come into their own at this point and the following year model, the 1966 Corvette is one of the most popular and beloved Corvettes of all times. This year model still has a huge following and is a favourite among collectors all over the world. The 1966 corvette was the peak of the C2 generation cars and the 1967 Corvette C2 was to be the last year before the third generation was introduced.

Learn more about the history of the corvette and the popular Corvette Sting Ray.

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