The story of the Chevrolet Corvette began not on a race track, but in the glitzy ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel during GM's 1953 Motorama. The car was the brainchild of legendary design executive Harley J. Earl, who sought to create an American answer to the sleek European sports cars he had seen at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix. Built with a revolutionary all-fiberglass body—a first for mass-produced American cars—the Corvette was initially intended only as a showpiece. However, after 45,000 people swarmed the opening day to see the white roadster with its striking red interior, GM fast-tracked it for production.

Key Historical Facts:

• Humble Beginnings: The first 300 Corvettes were hand-assembled in Flint, Michigan. They all featured the same color scheme: Polo White exterior, Sportsman Red interior, and a black canvas top.

• The "Father" of the Corvette: While Harley Earl designed the look, engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov is credited with giving the car its soul, eventually introducing the V8 engine and manual transmission that turned the roadster into a high-performance machine.

• Evolution of Speed: The original 1953 model weighed 2,705 lbs and was powered by a "Blue Flame" six-cylinder engine. By contrast, modern eighth-generation Corvettes can go from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds.

• The Original’s Fate: Interestingly, the very first Corvette display model met a tragic end; its chassis was used for station wagon testing, and its body was incinerated to test the flammability of fiberglass.

Today, the Corvette remains a symbol of American ingenuity and ambition, continuing its production in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and standing as the longest-running continually produced passenger sports car in the world.