Chevrolet Corvette 1958 - All American Girl

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Chevrolet Corvette 1958 - All American Girl

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Created on February 3, 2022

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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GM Corporation / Chevrolet

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Tom Wood - Courtesy RM Auctions

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General Motors

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

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The exterior of the Corvette remained unchanged for the 1960 model year. This contemporary press photo shows an example in Honduras Maroon.

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The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket from 1956 presents itself in the best jet fighter style of the time. The characteristic split rear window was to experience a renaissance in 1962.

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A 1956 Corvette stands in the design center next to the remarkably compact Oldsmobile Golden Rocket. In the background are the Corvette competitors: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and Austin-Healey 100

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The first shape proposal for the Corvette with the large, oval nostrils was still inspired by the Oldsmobile Golden Rocket.

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The '58 Corvette took shape between January and February 1956. The front design is already very close to the later production model.

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On February 23, 1956, the Corvette presented itself ready for formal acceptance. The side air outlets and the slits in the hood are still missing here.

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The new 1958 Corvette was both longer (177.2 instead of 168 inches) and wider (72.8 instead of 70.5 inches) than the previous year's model.

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GM photographer Myron Scott skillfully staged the new front end for the press photos.

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Wide-angle shots further emphasized the already dramatic shapes of the new model year. The blinker is located at the very bottom of the front panel.

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The horns of the bumper are extended by the two chrome strips on the trunk lid. They disappeared again as early as 1959.

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Despite its overloaded exterior, the 1958 Corvette was a better sports car than its predecessors. Here is an example in Snowcrest White and Inca Silver, the most frequently ordered color combination.

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This Corvette in Panama Yellow has the optional hardtop, which was carried over from last year.

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The imitation air outlets in the color-contrasting flank section were new. Although typical of the Corvette today, Signet Red was only the fourth most popular color.

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Without whitewall tires, the Corvette looks much more like a sports car. This photo clearly shows that the air vents in the hood were only dummies.

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At the special request of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the rev counter was placed in the driver's direct field of vision for the first time in 1958. Here is a sound model

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A mighty speedometer with a 160-mile scale was enthroned above the rev counter. The 1958 Corvette was the first US car to have a center console under the dashboard.

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Without the powerful grab handle, the large recess in the dashboard might even have contributed to passive safety.

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In 1958, the bumpers were connected to the frame instead of the body for the first time. The central steering column lever of the front axle, whose ratio could be changed with an extension, is also clearly visible.

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To ensure that the water pump and fan were driven more reliably, the alternator was mounted on the passenger side of the engine from 1958; here the 270 hp version with two four-barrel carburetors and sports camshaft.

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Power curve for the 270 hp engine with maximum at 6000 rpm

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Power curve for the 290 hp engine with maximum at 6200 rpm

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Corvette production in St. Louis, Missouri, finally got going in 1958: 9168 cars were built

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The successor also came to Geneva: in 1959, it stood on Uniroyal tires at the Geneva Motor Show

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For 1959, the Corvette was mainly redesigned in non-visible areas. From the front, the new model can be recognized by the smooth hood.

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This 1959 Corvette in Tuxedo Black shows the improved seats with a new pattern. Painted in synthetic resin instead of nitro since 1958.

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The pointless chrome strips on the trunk disappeared again. Instead, there was now a tiny reflector between the rear light and the exhaust.

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This contemporary press photo clearly shows the new hubcaps with air slots for brake cooling

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The number of teeth in the radiator grille did not change from 1958 to 1960. The couple in this press photo from 1959 matched the color of the Corvette.

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The large hole in the dashboard in front of the front passenger was given a floor and thus became a kind of glove compartment

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Plain and simple: the 1956 Corvette with a short overhang and without dummy air outlets

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The new Corvette was presented to the Swiss public at the Geneva Motor Show in 1956.

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The Corvette for 1957 corresponded externally to the previous year's model. Without tail fins and with vertical individual headlights, it is considered the most aesthetically perfect C1 design.

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Despite all the ornamentation, the last Earl Corvette still offers some pretty views.

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Can only be identified as a 1960s model by the color: Horizon Blue

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Can only be identified as a 1960s model by the color: Horizon Blue

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Summary

While the Chevrolet Corvette started out as a US interpretation of an English roadster in 1953, the design had become fully Americanized by 1958 at the latest. But don't be fooled by the overloaded front end and the many functionless trim parts. Because underneath the GRP, the four-eyed Corvette was the most active to drive that had ever existed. This article tells the story of the Corvette vintages 1958 to 1960 and shows them in many historic photos.

This article contains the following chapters

A rocket becomes a warship
The second start
Bigger and heavier
A completely redesigned cockpit
Serious motorsport intentions
Enthusiastic test drivers
Improvements for the following year
Not a cheap pleasure
All good model years come in threes
Success finally comes

Estimated reading time: 16min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Designers, engineers, marketers, dealers and advertising experts all have a say in the development of a new car model. Car company executives are also happy to contribute to car design, even if they are not particularly qualified to do so. And where there is also indecision, there is even more room for conflicting opinions. The fact that the Corvette would have a future after its bumpy start was assured in 1955 thanks to Ford. However, nobody really knew what this future would look like after 1957. In the fall of 1955, a new "dream car" was created in the design offices of General Motors for the 1956 Motorama, which would also influence work on the new Corvette. The Oldsmobile Golden Rocket had a pointed, airplane-like front in the style of the 1950 Studebaker, but with a less conspicuous, vertical radiator grille. There were no headlights at the ends of the pontoon-shaped fenders, but rather pointed, projectile-like "Dagmar Bumpers". The rearward tapering coupé roof anticipated the "split window" of the 1962 Corvette Sting Ray, while the rear with its jet fighter fenders and forward-positioned tail fins was reminiscent of Ghia's Supersonic bodies. Headroom when getting in was increased by a roof flap above each side window, which lifted automatically when the door was opened.

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