The man who designed the Chevrolet Corvette that you should know:
Harley J. Earl (1893–1969) Designed the original 1953 Chevrolet Corvette. Harley was one of the first American automotive designers. He eventually became the the head of design at General Motors (GM), and later becoming vice president. He is credited as the first person to actually “design” the first automobile. He was pioneer of modern transportation design.
During 1951, the Styling Department released the Le Sabre concept car during a race at Watkins Glen Raceway in New York state. Earl noticed not only the crowd’s enthusiasm toward the performance of European sports cars, like that of Ferrari but also the design language they had. He quickly recognized that America had no real rival of such cars and set to work. Two years later, at the same event, he introduced to a star-struck crowd the Corvette, and the world has reeled ever since.
Harley Earl pioneered the use of free-form sketching and hand sculpted clay models as an automotive design techniques. He subsequently introduced the “concept car” as both a tool for the design process and a clever marketing tool. He is best known as the father of the Chevrolet Corvette, and introduced the “tail-fin” tail lights. He is remembered as the first styling chief in the United States automobile industry, the originator of the wraparound windshield, the hardtop sedan, factory two-tone paint, and tailfins.
He said in 1954, “My primary purpose for twenty-eight years has been to lengthen and lower the american automobile, at times in reality and always at least in appearance.” The extremely low and long American cars of the 1960s and 1970s show the extent to which Earl influenced an entire industry and culture. During his heyday spanning the 1930s to the late ’50s, Earl created innovations that were decades ahead of their time:-Rear backup cameras connected to dashboard video, an automated driving system, collision warning alarms, cruise control, keyless entry, onboard computers, and rain-sensing technology. Earl was the first, say experts, to meld car style with functionality.
Chevrolet Corvette Generation #1 (C1): 1953–1962
- Harley Earl — Designer
- Tom Keating — GM Design Leader
- Ellis James Primo — Body Engineer
- Zora Arkus-Duntov — Performance Engineer
The first generation of the Chevrolet Corvette (C1) was produced from 1953–1962 and is known as the “solid-axle” generation. The name Corvette was named after a class of small, fast-moving warships from World War II. Automotive designer Harley Earl is credited as the inventor of the Corvette and convinced General Motors (GM) Tom Keating that GM needed to build a moderately priced two-seat sports car to compete with the European sport coupes. http://www.harleyjearl.com/corvette-history-101
The body engineer for the original Corvette was Ellis James Premo, who suggested and implemented using fiberglass body panels in 1954 instead of steel for production intent. (similar on the original Corvette protoype show car).
The original C1 Corvette had a 235 cu in “Blue Flame” inline six-cylinder engine, with a top speed of 150HP, utilizing a 2 speed “powerglide” automatic transmission, and 0–60 mph was 11.5 seconds. The performance in 1953 was not competitive with European sports cars of the day, until automotive engineer and race car driver Zora Arkus-Duntov was hired at GM and introduced a new small-block V8 in 1955 outfitted with a four-barrel carburetor (265 cu in at 195hp) coupled with a 3-speed manual transmission that challenged the Ford Thunderbird, Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes Benz.
There were only 300 Corvettes hand-built in Flint Michigan in 1953 offered only in polo white with red interior. The cost for a new 1953 Corvette was $3,498. Pictures are from my visit to Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.
1955 Chevrolet Corvette
1957 Chevrolet Corvette
Performance increased over the years, and the Corvette transformed into a sports car. Zora Arkus-Duntov is credited for introducing 4-wheel disc brakes, high lift camshafts, and “ramjet” fuel injection. Bill Mitchell was the chief designer at Chevrolet at the time and worked with Zora on future improvements to the Corvette including the next generation high performance C2 Corvette StingRay. 1956 had a new body style and the fins were gone, and in 1962 a 327 cu in engine went up to 360 hp.
1960 Chevrolet Corvette
