5 Corvette secrets we can’t stop talking about
Given the rumors that Chevrolet may spin the Corvette into a sub-brand, perhaps including an electric SUV, it’s only natural that some long for simpler times. This list, which originally ran in 2012, reminds us that nothing’s guaranteed—not even the birth of America’s sports car. —Ed.
The Corvette, America’s favorite sports car, has been in production since 1953. Seven decades would provide plenty of time, you’d think, to air its secrets, but there are still a few things that aren’t common knowledge about this American icon.
GM almost killed it
The 1953 model year was really just a dress rehearsal, but when production began in earnest for 1954, there were more cars than buyers, who weren’t impressed with the lack of roll-up windows and modest performance.
GM was seriously thinking about axing the car when Ford announced the Thunderbird. Not wishing to give Ford the PR win for “killing” the Corvette with the T-Bird, GM pressed on and got serious about making it into a real performance car.
The Corvette didn’t originally have a V-8
Although it would seem unthinkable today, the original Corvette wasn’t powered by a V-8. Chevy’s modern small block V-8 didn’t exist in 1953, so for the first two model years, the Corvette was powered by a somewhat anemic six-cylinder motor.
See secret number three.
The savior of the all-American sports car spent his childhood in Russia
Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, the man who transformed the Corvette from a pleasant little roadster into a serious, V-8-powered sports car, wasn’t born in America. However, as George Will stated in his 1996 obituary, “He was born to be an American.”
Duntov was born in 1909 in Belgium to Russian parents. He moved back to Leningrad with them as a child, a fact that GM rarely mentioned in the Cold War era of the 1950s. His ashes are interred at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
There was no 1983 Corvette
It must have killed GM, because 1983 would have been the car’s 30th anniversary, but there was actually no 1983 Corvette.
A complete re-design of the car had taken place and there were quality-control and supplier issues. By the time they were all sorted out, there were just four months to go in the 1983 model year. GM just decided to skip 1983 altogether and the first new C4 Corvettes were all early 1984 models.
In retrospect, maybe they should have skipped 1984 as well: Cars from that model year are known for a punishing ride and numerous faults, not unlike the previous generation’s first-year model from 1968.
The Corvette had a mini-me twin
GM’s German subsidiary, Adam Opel, AG (better known simply as Opel), was suffering with a particularly staid image in the 1960s. Bob Lutz sent stylist Clare MacKichan to Opel spark a little creativity.
Not coincidentally, MacKichan was a Corvette guy and Opel’s little sports car, the 1.9-liter Opel GT, came out looking for all the world like a two-thirds size 1968 Corvette. They’re rare today, but the reaction an Opel GT inspires when parked next to a 1968–72 Corvette is priceless.
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Why not bring back the six with a V6 option. Today’s tech makes them faster than old V8’s and the way gas prices are going, handling, competing against other smaller engine sports cars etc. Maybe a 4cyl hybrid.
Love the idea!
I had a 54, very early model. 3 Carter side draft carburetors with mesh screens for air filters. My friends laughed when I said they were only good for keeping out leaves and rocks.
It was always a very pretty car, I dressed up the engine with Jahn’s valve cover and whatever other ideas a teenage guy could think of.
No luxuries at all, the windshield wipers hardly worked. The windows were curtains that you had to stop if there was rain, open the trunk, take out the windows and install them. The top was manual.
It was a two speed automatic transmission.I called a “PowerSlide.”
The “bumpers” were attached to the fiberglass body and so provided or protection.
With all that said, I would love to have it back!
There were 61 1983 Corvettes made at Bowling Green, KY, but they failed to meet emissions regulations and being close to the end of the production year GM chose to destroy all 61 of them. The story goes that they started crushing the 83 corvettes and when the end of the day came it was dark and it started to rain. The operator went home thinking he would just finish the last one in the morning. When he came back the next day the equipment for destroying the 61 Corvettes was gone and there sat one lone White 1983 Corvette. It was moved and parked out of the way and forgotten. Years later it was discovered and then restored. It is now in the Corvette Museum. To say that it was “Skipped by GM” is not entirely true.
I had an 85 C4, an 89 C4, a 94 C4, a 97 C5 and now have a 2000 C5 with 6 sp, HUD, and all the goodies. Each car was better than the previous one and all provided exceptional value. The best kept secret is these cars are great fun and at very affordable cost.
Nothing new here for me.
i remember hearing GM almost killed the Corvette again in the 90’s.
I’m a 4th generation Chevrolet dealer in Newfoundland Canada. Hickman Motors. In 1953 we had received one of the 300 Corvettes built in 1953. I have been told that we had the car for a year and could not sell it. My Grandfather sold it back to GM Canada in 1954 and took a couple of new 54 Bel Air’s for it. I wish he had kept it!!
Would love to know where it ended up.
That’s a great story! It is interesting how undesirable cars (in their day) become the most rare and collectible classics…not unlike the split window of ‘63.
Yours reminded me of a story in my family…my dad was a Dodge dealer, and we were one of the two dealers in our State to get the new Viper…the day never came due to a falling out with the partners, which ending the dealership right before the Viper woukd have arrived…
My brother in law bought the first corvette built in 1952 it needed a new windshield apparantly, the car was on display throughout United States. This first corvette had roll up windows and a hard top.
If this email reaches you, I could talk with you later? For more info? 250 716 7858 Ihave owned 3 corvettes?
I live on Vancouver Island B C Canada. I am now 80 years old Mike Mosdell
I hope to read a follow up list sometime in the future…with one of the secrets being: Did you know that in 202x GM thought it would be a good idea to spin off the Corvette brand, with models including a SUV and several electric cars sold as Corvettes. This decision turned out to be the wrong decision, with GM firing several executives after terrible sales and reversing course the very next year, which saved the Corvette sports car.
Here’s another current secret: Did you know that Chevrolet stops making parts for some Corvettes when they are just a few years old, screwing it’s customers.
I know they stopped making the ABS control modules for the 97 to 00 years on the C5. Many of us have blown modules and are dying to buy something to replace them but only junkyard ones are available. I wish someone could resolve this issue. Check the Corvette forum on the internet and you’ll see what I mean
A collector I know who is an avid Corvette collector and the owner of a 51 Nash Healey, will correct you when it is said that Corvette was the first American sports car. The 51 Nash Healey was actually the first, and it was an outstanding road and track contender. The 234.8 cu in straight six Nash motor with a special aluminum head and two side draft SUs was hot, and the Healey designed running gear made it handle well at Le Mans. Its design was an example of efficient delivery of torque to the road and handled well in doing so. The 53-54 Corvettes did not do well on tracks, or the open road.
Several years ago when I met Stirling Moss, I asked him if he had ever driven the 51 Nash Healey. He said “Yes, it handled great and had good power.” He went to say he had raced against one and it was tough.
I think the Crosley Hotshot would beg to differ with you on the first American sports car claim. Especially since the Nash Healey is only USA in the powertrain
I suspect a lot of those who dog the 1984 Corvette never owned nor drove one. I did both and loved it. Also, 205 horsepower wasn’t bad for that day compared to other performance cars. Sure, some other brands were hotter but the Corvette did fine with that combination. The 1982 Corvette had the same cross fire design but no one complains about it.
I test drove a used 1984 and thought the build quality was a bad joke. Creaks and pops and shudders. My little Festiva was at least twice as good.
The book “All Corvettes Are Red”, is a great deep dive into the work on the C5 that went on behind the scenes at GM and Chevrolet. How about the “secret” of the Corvette designers sculping the Cavalier?
Best secret you missed here would be how the design of the Opel GT began in 1961 with two working / driving prototypes being show at the 1965 Frankfurt Auto Show but was “copied” from the 1968 Corvette. (Opel GT production was 1968 through 1973.) GM owned a controlling interest in Opel from 1939 through 2017. Yes some of the same design team but the Opel was first. It’s not a “Mini Vette” , rather the Corvette (Maco Shark) is actually a “Maxie Opel”. Do a little research on GM’s “Project Opel”.
Did I know all 5? A chimpanzee with a set of Craftsman, born before 1995 knew all 5.
I’ve got one of those blue flame tire shredders. It’s in my 47 one ton and with 512 gears it’ll do a whopping 50mph
Sorry, but anyone with an interest in the Corvette is aware of the five secrets…which are not that secret!
I was wheeling and dealing during the late eighties and early nineties. Taking trades on cars was common. At one point, I had a ’84 and ’85 C4 at the same time. Both automatics. I liked the ’85 much better as it definitely rode better and was quicker.
Two weeks ago I traded my 2016 911 for a 3LT 2022 C8 with the Z51 option. I have been a member of PCA since 1978 and have owned many Porsches over the years, sprinkled with a few Corvettes as well. I like this C8 better than the 911. Very fast, excellent ride for a sports car, and well put together. Glad I bought it.
I would have thought by secret you meant something like molded into the C4 body there is a picture of a baseball, hot dog, apple pie slice, and a bowtie. 🥰