All 1953 Corvettes were produced in Flint, Michigan - the Corvette birth place. In 1954, the production would be moved to Saint Louis, Missouri. All 1953 Corvettes were assembled by hand and were near matches of the Motorama concept car. One identifiable difference was in the hash marks on the front fenders. On the Motorama car the hash pointed up, while the production car had it pointing down. Except for the aesthetics, the first Corvette was essentially a stock Chevy with respect to frame components and running gear. The body height was only 38 inches with a weight of 418 pounds. The first Corvette engine was known as the Blue Flame Six. GM decided to go with the I-6 even though their V8 was in the testing phase at that time. Automatic was the only choice for early Corvette lovers. The 3 speed manual transmission presented some design challenges that the team did not have time to contend with. The car came with standard bucket seats, along with 3 carbs and dual exhaust, all firsts for American production cars. The only options available were the radio and heater and if you bought a Corvette, it was Polo White with Red interior. The radio antenna was molded inside the truck lid, the first concealed radio antenna. There was not an outside rear view mirror on the early Corvette.

Chevrolet made a notable addition to their team in May by hiring Zora Arkus-Duntov as an assistant staff engineer. His work in future years would drive the Corvette to success. To many he is father of the Corvette. Also, in May the first Corvette advertisement was released. The Corvette was officially introduced on June 20th.

The beginnings of assembly line production did not require starting the cars. Thus, the first actual Corvette was literally rolled off the assembly line by hand on June, 30 1953, the unofficial Corvette birthday. The Corvette was officially released to the public on Sep 29, 1953. The automotive press was given access to 8 cars at the Milford Proving Grounds for test and review. The lucky first civilian to drive a production Corvette was Susan Coleman at the age of 16. Lucky girl!! The base price was $3,498.

There were high expectations for the release of the 1953 Corvette based on its tremendous success at the Motorama shows. However, Corvette sales were dismal with only 183 of the original 300 sold. Oldsmobile had created a Corvette spin-off called the F-85 Starfire in response to the Corvette concept car success. It never made it to production due to the slow initial sales of the Corvette. GM made a marketing blunder by offering the car to VIPs. The '53 Corvette was an invitation only purchase. This plan nearly killed the Corvette. Another factor in the early demise was blamed on the lack of options, the horribly underpowered 6 cyl. and some quality issues that kept the marketed audience disinterested. The Jaguar XK120 was less expensive and more powerful and Cadillacs were about the same price. Rumors abound that sales were so low that GM gave several 1953 Corvettes to movie stars in order to increase public appeal. In essence, the public relations team billed the new Corvette as a great sports car, but it didn't quite measure up to standards.

What happened to the first Corvette ever produced? Serial #3 is the lowest numbered Corvette today. There are no records indicating that the first 2 Corvettes were either sold to the public or stored or destroyed by GM. The most believed rumor is that the first two were sent to Chevy Engineering for testing and eventual destruction. #3 is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

DID YOU KNOW?: Due to a shortage of Corvette wheel covers, some of the first 1953 Corvettes were fitted with "dome" wheel covers common to Chevrolet passenger vehicles.