The Chevrolet Corvette first entered production in 1953.
The first-generation Corvette, known as the C1, was introduced as a two-seat sports car with a fiberglass body. Production began in Flint, Michigan, and the earliest cars were built with Chevrolet’s six-cylinder Blue Flame engine and a two-speed automatic transmission.
The Corvette’s debut followed the success of European sports cars in the postwar American market. Chevrolet presented the new model at the 1953 Motorama show in New York, where it attracted attention for its styling and lightweight body construction.
People sometimes date the Corvette’s major performance transformation to 1955 instead. That was the year Chevrolet offered its small-block V8, which greatly improved performance. The Corvette nameplate itself, however, began production in 1953.