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Chevrolet Corvette C1 - the beginning of a legend

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Created on August 7, 2012

Reading time 22min

Written by:

Peter Ruch (Radical-Mag)

Photos:

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Bruno von Rotz

Patrick Ernzen - courtesy of RM Auctions

Archiv

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Bruno von Rotz

Patrick Ernzen - courtesy of RM Auctions

Archiv

Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - elegante und sportliche Erscheinung - ohlala

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Chevrolet Corvette C1 FI Convertible (1962) - angeboten an der RM Versteigerung der Charlie Thomas Collection vom 20. Oktober 2012

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Chevrolet Corvette (1953) - der Prototyp EX-122, gezeigt am Motorama 1953 im Waldorf-Astoria am 17. Januar 1953 in New York, unterschied sich nur minimal von späteren Serienversionen

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Chevrolet Corvette (1953) - der im Waldorf-Astoria am 17. Januar 1953 gezeigte finale Prototyp

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Chevrolet Corvette (1953) - die Produktion lief kurz nach der Präsentation des Prototypen an

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Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (1954) - angeboten an der RM Versteigerung der Charlie Thomas Collection vom 20. Oktober 2012

Bild von Partner Planai Classic 2025 Inline 1

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Chevrolet Corvette (1954) - die Leichtigkeit der Karosserie - hier der Unterboden, das grösste integrale Teil der Karosserie - wird von Norbert Shemansky präsentiert

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Produktion - der erste Schritt war die Produktion der Formen, hier mit Mahagoni-Holz

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Produktion - um die Befestigungspunkte zu boren, wird ein Markiergestell auf den Karosserieboden gelegt

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Zusammenpassen der Karosserieteile

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Chevrolet Corvette (1954) - 6. Platz beim Concours d'Elégance von Genf im Jahr 1954

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Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (1957) - angeboten an der RM Versteigerung der Charlie Thomas Collection vom 20. Oktober 2012

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Chevrolet Corvette (1956) - von Charles Mesritz in der Klasse über 2000 cm3 rennsportlich eingesetzt

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Chevrolet Corvette "Bubbletop" Roadster (1954) - verkauft an der RM Auction Arizona (19. und 20. Januar 2012) für USD 176'000

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Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (1961) - angeboten an der RM Versteigerung der Charlie Thomas Collection vom 20. Oktober 2012

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - passende Weisswandreifen

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - viel Chrom und Zierart

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - Doppelscheinwerfer hatten alle späteren C1-Modelle

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - Schriftzug und Kühlergrill

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - kraftvolles Heck

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - Interieur mit riesigem Tacho

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Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (1962) - angeboten an der RM Versteigerung der Charlie Thomas Collection vom 20. Oktober 2012

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Chevrolet Corvette (1956) - eine frühe Corvette, bereits mit den steil stehenden Schweinwerfern

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Chevrolet Corvette (1957) - das Instrumentenbrett des amerikanischen Sportwagens

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - die 62-er-C1 Corvette hat neu einen schwarzen Kühlergrill und angepasste Flanken, sieben Farben sind verfügbar

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Chevrolet Corvette (1961) - eine späte Version, sie wirkt wesentlich eleganter

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - alle späteren Modelle hatten Doppelscheinwerfer

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - bearbeitetes Bild einer späten Corvette

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Chevrolet Corvette (1960) - der harte Rennsporteinsatz fordert Tribut

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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (1960) - Bill Mitchell posiert auf der New York Autoshow von 1977 vor einigen seiner "Idea Cars"

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - der erste Schritt bei einer Reparatur - Schnitt in die Kunststoffschicht

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Einfache Reparatur ist möglich - Einsetzen neuer Glasfaser-Streifen

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Reparaturen - Heizlampen werden eingesetzt, um das Zusammenfügen der Teile zu beschleunigen

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Chevrolet Corvette (1962) - Produktion - das Zusammenfügen von Karosserieteilen mit verschiedenen Befestigungsmethoden

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Summary

When the first Corvette was presented in 1952, there was great enthusiasm. However, the plastic coupé was less well received by buyers than by the press. Unit sales were low and the car was immature. Year after year, however, the first Corvette, now known as the "C1", became more attractive, stronger and more successful. This comprehensive article describes the early years of the Corvette and shows various examples in detail, including sales brochures and pictures from production.

This article contains the following chapters

1951 - The myth is born
1952 - green light for the Corvette project
Complex production of the plastic bodies by hand
Unsatisfactory handling?
Expensive and moderately successful
1954 - part of the production cannot be sold
Rare color combinations
More power for the Corvette
1955 - Sales figures are still plummeting
1956 - A new start with Bob Caderet
New front design makes the Corvette more attractive
Even more power thanks to Zora
Comfort options and new colors
1957 - Muscle for the Corvette at last
A turning point in Corvette history
1958 - All will be well
More sedate than its predecessors?
Hardly any changes under the hood
Positive response from the press
1959 - Purifying the design
Successor C2 in preparation
1960 - almost unchanged on the outside
The hobbies of Mr. Mitchell
1960 - More than 10,000 sold for the first time
Further information

Estimated reading time: 22min

Preview (beginning of the article)

There are certainly more myths about cars than true stories. One of the strangest fables, which has taken on a life of its own and is even ported by the factory, is the origin of the Mercedes Silver Arrows. Fama est that Mercedes race director Alfred Neubauer is said to have said before the race at the Nürburgring on June 3, 1934, "now we are the losers" because the Mercedes W25 had a maximum weight of 751 kilos instead of the prescribed 750 kilos. This gave Mercedes driver Manfred von Brauchitsch the idea of having the car's white paintwork sanded down to bring the weight down to the permissible limit; this then revealed the silver aluminum skin of the cars. All nonsense: the first Mercedes and Auto-Union were already on the road in silver on the Avus in Berlin on May 27, 1934. And anyway, the cars competed in an open formula in 1934, there was no weight limit at all.

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