1953
Polo White Roadster
All 300 first-year cars wore the same color, with red interiors and black canvas tops.
C1
The Original
Hand-laid fiberglass curves, chrome for days and the bold idea that America could build a sports car of its own.
1953 – 1962
The Story
In June 1953, the first 300 Corvettes rolled out of a makeshift assembly line in Flint, Michigan — each one Polo White with a Red Interior, hand-laid in fiberglass and powered by a 150-horsepower Blue Flame inline-six.
Sales were slow until Zora Arkus-Duntov pushed Chevrolet to drop a small-block V8 under the hood in 1955. By 1957, fuel injection and a four-speed manual made the Corvette a genuine sports car.
Ten years and one styling refresh later, the C1 left behind a chrome-trimmed, dual-headlight icon — and a blueprint for everything that followed.
Specifications
- Layout
- Front engine, RWD
- Body
- Hand-laid fiberglass convertible
- Engine (1953)
- 3.9L Blue Flame I6 · 150 hp
- Engine (1957)
- 4.6L 283 V8 · 283 hp (Fuelie)
- Engine (1962)
- 5.4L 327 V8 · 360 hp
- Transmission
- 2-speed Powerglide / 3- & 4-speed manual
- Production
- 69,015 units
- Years
- 1953 – 1962
The Lineup
1955
V8 Era
The 265 small-block transformed the Corvette from cruiser to genuine sports car.
1958
Restyle
Quad headlights, chrome trunk spears and a wider, more aggressive face.
1962
Fuelie 327
Final C1 year — the most powerful and refined of the solid-axle generation.
Member-Owned C1's
Solid-axle classics in our club's garages
Bill & Lisa Reid
1958 Convertible
Own a C1 in Nova Scotia?
Bring it out to the next cruise — we'd love to meet you and your Corvette.
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