The Early Chevrolet Corvette

 

The Chevrolet Corvette first rolled off the assembly line in Bowling Green Kentucky in 1953. It was considered by many as the first all American made sports car. The Corvette has a long history of combining powerful engines with outstanding handling capabilities.

 

The early Corvettes emphasized simplicity over technical complexity when it came to engine power. Where nearly all competing cars relied on smaller displacement engines with complex, double overhead cams, variable valve timing, four- and five-valve heads, or turbochargers, the Corvette makes just as much or better horse power using a simple overhead valve head with only two pushrod actuated valves per cylinder, coupled with a larger displacement engine. The relatively simple pushrod V8 engine is both lighter and physically smaller than the more complex engines, as well as cheaper to produce. This lack of complexity is sometimes viewed as a negative by automotive enthusiasts, and has fueled the “lack of refinement” argument against the Corvette. Regardless of the legitimacy of such criticism, no one can deny the power, efficiency, and affordability of the Chevrolet Corvette design.