La Première Corvette assemblée

December 22

1952 First Corvette completed

On this day in 1952, the first Corvette, a production-ready prototype, is completed. The design of the sports car, which has since become an American classic, is said to have cost between $50,000 and $60,000 to build.

General Motors chief William Durant decided to produce a small sports car after a visit to Europe in 1951 during which he saw his European counterparts doing the same. In fact, the first Corvette is believed to have been modeled after a Jaguar. Legendary automobile stylist Harley Earl was tasked with the design project, which was originally codenamed “Opel.” The eventual name “Corvette” came from a type of small, lightly armed warship used by most Allied navies during World War II.

After completing production on December 22, the first Corvette was shipped to New York City, where it made its public debut at the GM Motorama show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on January 17. The first regular-production model was rolled out on June 30, 1953. Just over 300 Corvettes were assembled—by hand—in Flint, Michigan, that first year. Only about half of them sold; the rest were given away to company executives and VIPs.

#003 also ended up as test vehicle for GM after it's completion on #june 30, 1953. It was send to GM Car Development Garages on july 7, 1953. It was subject of testing in a cold room shake test. With a temperature of 20 degrees below zero the car was put on rollers and vibrated to see how well its body and other components would fare. It passed the test with 'no serious fatigue'. In august 1953 #003 was returned to Michigan for a 5000 mile Belgium block test, 5000 miles of cobblestone roadbed to test the structural integrity of this fiberglass and steel creation. With the anticipated high demand for the Corvette and relatively low production levels, a work order was initiated to completely refurbish the car, apparently for further development and possible resale or display. This total rebuild included a new frame. Then it was sold. The car's ownership is unclear from this point to 1958, when a California couple purchased the car for $ 1200,-. It remained in their ownership until 1969 when a Corvette collector, Ed Thiebuad, purchases it. He owned this car for 18 years, and at some point it was part of a divorce settlement and actually buried to keep his prized possession from his ex-wife. Nobody was convinced that the car was really gone, and it eventually surfaced and was sold at the 1987 Monterey auction as part of the final settlement. Three men, Les Bieri, Howard Kirsch and John Amgwert, purchased the car for...... $ 37.000,- !! Almost immediately after their purchase the Corvette was parted from it's chassis. Reason for this urgency was that in 1978 a frame bearing the #003 VIN was discovered under a 1955 Corvette. The obvious questions were why was it under that car, and what frame was under #003? What was found under #003 was of great interest - a 1953 vintage frame with absolutely no VIN number at all. During the restauration a lot of hand-made, early production parts were discovered, like the center grille bar was six pieces, while later units were one. Also the nose emblem was unique to the car. #003 has also won a trailer full of trophies, like the Duntov Award, Gold at Bloomington and the NCRS' Top Flight award.

Il y en a peut-être une troisième, mais je n'ose y croire: tellement transformée que c'est un massacre. Présentée comme une 1953, elle n'en a plus du tout les attributs (parait-il à cause d'un accident). C'est sans aucun doute une 55/57

De plus je crois qu'on ne les aies pas toutes vendues.
Pour la vendre Gm avait besoin d'un moteur v8 plus moderne que leur 6 Blue flame qu'il offrait dans leur vette a cette epoque enfin il se sont repris en 1955 avec le 265 mais ca c'est une autre histoire.

Welcome to the World Famous Kerbeck Corvette Showroom!
There's lots to see and do in a fun atmosphere. So bring your family and camera.

Plan a trip to our showroom and visit us. There's lots to do. You'll see the C5 Corvettes. You'll see the Kerbeck Collection, Corvettes from the fifties and sixties, Awesome GM Muscle Cars, like the GTO, Camaro Z/28, 442, & SS Chevelle. Bring the entire family, everybody gets a collectible Corvette poster free. If you get to Atlantic City, don't miss one of the best attractions, the World Famous Kerbeck Corvette Showroom.