Instagram Jump Start: Corvettes cruise to 1-2 finish

05 July 2016

Happy Monday! OK, so it only feels like Monday. Thanks to Independence Day, it’s actually Tuesday – which means a short work week, everyone! If it also feels like a Corvette summer, there’s good reason for that. The two most-liked photos posted on Hagerty’s Instagram account last week featured the iconic Chevrolet sports car. Here are the top five:

1953 Chevrolet Corvettes (1,348 likes) – On this date in 1953, workers in Flint, Mich., began assembling the first Chevrolet Corvette, a two-seat sports car that would become an American icon. Designed by Harley Earl, the first completed production ‘Vette rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of only 300 made that year.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette (1,165) – The 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – one word, a change from the previous generation’s Sting Ray nomenclature – offered a variety of engine options including a 427-ci V-8 with six horsepower ratings to choose from. Car and Driver magazine wrote: “The small-engine Corvettes are marginally faster and extraordinarily civilized. The large-engine Corvettes are extraordinarily fast and marginally civilized.” We admired this ’69 model at the Bloomington Gold event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1931 Cord L-29 replica (1,086) – Among the head-turning automobiles on display at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Ind., is a replica of the 1931 Cord L-29 Speedster that debuted at the 1931 Paris Automobile Show. Designed by 23-year-old Philip Wright, the original car was purchased off the Paris show floor by Paul Berns, husband of film siren Jean Harlow. While the fate of the original car is unknown, this replica was built in 1994 using an original Cord chassis and running gear. A 298-ci, 125-hp Lycoming eight-cylinder engine powers the front-wheel-drive roadster.
1970 Plymouth Barracuda (1,067) – A 1970 Plymouth Barracuda rolls into the Old Town Car Show at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich. The Barracuda entered its third and final generation in ’70, when the front track (the distance between the front wheels) was widened to comfortably swallow any power plant, from a Slant Six to a Hemi. This one is equipped with a 340-ci V-8.
1949 Cadillac/55 Chevy/55 Ford (1,052) – A black 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Sedan, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air and 1955 Ford Fairlane grace the lawn at Hagerty’s recent employee picnic in Traverse City, Mich. The Cadillac’s new-for-1949 331-cid OHV V-8 engine replaced the previous 346-cid flathead V-8. While the power increased by only 10 hp, the switch reduced the luxury car’s weight by 250 pounds.

Best of the Rest – After looking at hundreds of incredible classic car photos on Instagram, we picked a favorite. Then this one from @nino_nucaro came across our feed. We love Lamborghini Miuras to begin with, but the camera angle, tight cropping and alternating colors stole the show. Bellissimo!