Corvette Models

Beginning with the C1 body style, below you'll find a photo and a brief description of each of more than 50 years of America's premier sports car!

1953-1962

	1953 Corvette was introduced with 235cid six-cylinder engine (150hp) and two-speed automatic transmission. All 300 first edition Vettes were Polo White roadsters with red interior. Vette manufacturing plant was located in St. Louis, Missouri.
	1954 The 1954 Corvette differed little from the 1953 model. More exterior paint choices were added. Under the hood, a new camshaft gave the six-cylinder an extra five horsepower, boosting the total to 155 hp.
	1955 265cid OHV V8 engine and manual transmission introduced, also the last year for six-cylinder engine. V8 produced 195hp with a four barrel carburetor, standard version produced 155hp.
	1956 New body style with roll-up windows and optional removable hard top introduced. 265cid engine was boosted to 225hp.
	1957 Fuel injection appeared as an option and the V8 engine enlarged to 283cid, also optional four speed manual transmission came available.
	1958 Dual headlight units introduced. The top powerplant remained the high-compression, fuel-injected, 283ci with 290 horsepower at 6200 rpm.
	1959 For the 1959 Corvette, the busied '58 chrome styling was cleaned up considerably. The fake hood louvers and decklid chrome bars were removed. Otherwise, there were few changes from the previous model year.
	1960 The 1960 Corvette was almost indistinguishable from the 1959, but power increases were made to the top two engines. Solid lifters and higher 11.0:1 compression boosted the 283ci fuelie to 315 hp at 6200; a second version with hydraulic lifters pumped out 275 bhp at 5200 rpm.
	1961 A new rear tail treatment was added, taken from the XP-700 Mako Shark prototype show car built for Bill Mitchell. Up front, headlight bezels were now painted body color, and vertical teeth in the grill were eliminated in favor of a silver horizontal-mesh insert.
	1962 283 ci small block engine enlarged to 327cid. The previous silver mesh grille was now finished in black, and the chrome outline around the bodyside coves and triple chrome accent spears were deleted and replaced with ribbed aluminum appliques.

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1963-1967

	1963 1963 begins the Sting Ray era, and is the only year for the "Split Window" Vette. Five Grand Sport Corvettes were produced for racing purposes only. All five Grand Sports are today in collectors hands!
	1964 Only changes were minor spring and shock refinements for a better ride. Sting Ray sales reached 22,229, another new Corvette record. Coupe volume dropped to 8304 units, but convertible sales rose to 13,925.
	1965 Last year for Fuelie option and first year of big block engine option. First BB was 396cid and produced 425hp. Four-wheel disc brakes became standard. Work for new Vette generation begun.
	1966 Big block engine enlarged to 427cid, and featured 425 hp with 11:1 compression, larger intake valves, a bigger Holley four-barrel carburetor on an aluminum manifold, and solid mechanical lifters.
	1967 Big block was available with three Holley two-barrel carburetors and it produced 435hp. King of the Hill was L88 Vette. It had a 427 BB which produced about 550 horses, although GM said that it produced 430 horses... GM also mentioned that this is an off road engine.

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1968-1982

	1968 New sexy "Coca-Cola" bottle shape. 435hp L71 was still offered. 80 L88 Vettes were produced. GM's new three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission replaced the old two-speed Powerglide automatic, and the battery was relocated behind the seats.
	1969 Stingray model introduced. Base engine was enlarged to 350cid. 116 L88 Vettes produced. Two ZL-1 Stingray Coupes were unleashed. Again, Chevy said that this engine produces 430 horses, but in real life it produced over 500 hp...
	1970 Big block reached it biggest form as a 454cid version, engine code was LS-5 and it produced 390 horses. 370hp small block was also offered it's code name was LT-1. ZR-1 Vette appeared with LT-1 engine and 4-speed Muncie transmission. Only 25 were produced this year.
	1971 Power of the LT-1 engine compression was lowered to 9.0:1, and output dropped from 370 hp to 330 hp. Styling and equipment changes from the previous year were virtually nonexistent. Only 8 ZR-1 Vettes were produced.
	1972 Horsepower ratings dropped again, now the LT-1 produced only 255 hp. This was also the last year for the LT-1 option, 1741 LT-1 were built. This was also the last year for ZR-1 option and only 20 ZR-1 Vettes were produced. 454 BB produced only 270hp this year.
	1973 Front chrome bumper was gone and replaced with urethane plastic matched to the body paint color, but rear bumper still remained chrome. The coupe also exchanged its removable backlight for fixed glass.
	1974 Last year for the big-block engine. Chrome bumper was gone from rear too. Rear bumper was made from two pieces so there was a seam in the middle of the bumper.
	1975 Rear bumper is now one piece and the seam is gone, and a pair of small extrusions with black pads for each bumper as additional parking-lot protection were added. '75 was also last year for convertibles, until it reappeared in 1986.
	1976 The L48 gained 15 horses for a total of 180; the L82 went up to 210 bhp. Both engines breathed through an intake that was now in front of and above the radiator instead of at the cowl near the windshield.
	1977 Mechanicals were carried over prom the previous year unchanged. Instruments were restyled for greater legibility, and the Stingray nameplate came off the front fenders, replaced by the traditional crossed-flags insignia.
	1978 New fastback rear window. 15,283 Two-tone silver 25th Anniversary models (RPO B2Z), were produced. Indianapolis Pace Car was the other special model for '78. It had black/silver two-tone paint and 6,502 were sold. Optional L-82 350cid engine produced 220hp. All '78 cars had special 25th anniversary badges.
	1979 Pace Car Replica-style front and rear spoilers from the previous year became optional, and tungsten-halogen high-beam headlamps were phased in.
	1980 Front and rear spoilers were reshaped and made integral with the bodywork, and the grille was raked back. The differential housing and front-frame crossmember were switched from steel to aluminum. Total weight reductions slimmed the car by 250 pounds.
	1981 Revised rear suspension featured a transverse, fiberglass-reinforced monoleaf spring. New Vette plant started production in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in July. The first year of Computer Command Control (CCC).
	1982 Crossfire injection became a standard, and Collectors Edition was released. Production of these Collector Edition cars was 6,759. 1982 was the first Corvette since 1955 to come without an available manual gearbox.

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1983-1996

	1983 There is no '83 model Vette... Well actually 47 were built, but none were sold. The National Corvette Museum has the only 1983 model year Corvette known to exist.
	1984 First official year of the C4 body style. Engine was 350cid, 5.7-liter, called L-83, and produced 205 hp.
	1985 Crossfire injection changed to Tuned Port Injection. With tuned intake runners, along with a half-point compression increase to 9.5:1, the new intake system raised output by 25 hp, to reach 230 hp.
	1986 First convertible since '75 released mid-year. All were released as INDY 500 replicas painted bright yellow. First corvette anti-lock braking system (ABS) introduced.
	1987 Hydraulic roller lifters introduced. Callaway Twin Turbo offered as an option (RPO B2K), with 184 units sold. Twin Turbo produced 345hp, and stayed on the option list until 1991.
	1988 35th Anniversary model was released, it was white - even the wheels were white - and it also had a white interior. 2,050 of the 35th anniversary models were sold.
	1989 The previously optional Z52 package was made standard, including its fast-ratio steering, and 17-inch wheels and tires. New for '89 was an optional six-speed manual transmission. '89 was also the last year for the SCCA's Corvette Challenge, for which Chevy built 60 cars.
	1990 High-performance ZR-1 revealed, with 375hp 350cid LT-4 engine. 3,049 ZR-1 Vettes were sold this year. Also new was a driver's-side airbag, and revised instrument display now combining a digital speedometer with an analog tachometer.
	1991 Little facelift, which included plump rear end and smoother nose. Last year for Callaway Twin Turbo option, Callaway also offered Twin Turbo Speedster this year. Speedster was powered by 450hp Twin Turbo small block.
	1992 The Millionth Corvette rolled out from the plant on July 2, painted Arctic White with a red interior. It is now in the Corvette Museum. Second generation LT-1 was introduced with 300hp. 2,044 ZR-1 Vettes produced.
	1993 40th anniversary model featured Ruby Red paint and matching interior, and sold a total of 6,749 units. Rarest 40th Anniversary model was the ZR-1, only 245 were sold. Horsepower was up from 375 to 405 hp.
	1994 Revisions to the base LT1 engine included a more powerful ignition, and a new sequential fuel-injection system. Also new was Corvette's first electronically controlled automatic transmission, and the "run-flat" tire option. 448 ZR-1 Vettes were sold.
	1995 Last year of the ZR-1 produced 448 cars, with the last one built on April 28, 1995. A total of 6,939 ZR-1's were built during the six-year run. '95 was also the INDY Pace Car edition, the third time that the Corvette paced the INDY 500.
	1996 Silver Collectors Edition and blue Grand Sport with white stripes from front to rear. Optional LT-4 engine offered. LT-4 produced 330hp, LT-4 was offered only with 6-speed manual gearbox. LT-4 was base engine for Grand Sport option.

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1997-2004

	1997 All new Corvette was introduced. A lower hood and cowl allowed for greater visibility, and wider footwells resulted from the transmission being relocated to the rear axle. Only the coupe was offered.
	1998 Convertible model of the C5 Corvette came to market, weighing 114 pounds less, and was four times more torsionally sound, than its C4 equivalent.
	1999 Hard top came alongside the coupe and convertible. The hardtop's heavy-duty structure made its body 12 percent more rigid than the coupe. LS1 small-block V-8 with six-speed manual transmission introduced.
	2000 New five-spoke aluminum wheels and a new body color, Millennium Yellow, was available.
	2001 New Z06 model featured the all-new LS6 engine, which delivered 385 hp. New styling included grills on the center air inlets, and air scoops added to the rear rocker panels to direct cool air to the rear brakes.
	2002 5.7-liter LS6 engine received an additional 20 horses, bringing the small-block V-8 up to 405 hp. Optional Heads-Up Display was standard on the Z06.
	2003 The 50th Anniversary Special Edition Corvette package was available only on coupes and convertibles. New for 2003, Magnetic Selective Ride Control used a damper design that controlled wheel and body motion with Magneto-Rheological fluid in the shocks.
	2004 A Commemorative Edition package was available on all 2004 Corvettes. It included the LeMans Blue paint with wide red-edged silver stripes adorning the hood, roof, and rear deck, as well as special badges inside and out.

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2005-2013

	2005 Marking the sixth generation of its legacy, the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette delivers more power, passion, and precision, to reach a new standard of performance car excellence. Visual changes included elimination of pop-up headlamps, for Corvette's first exposed beams since 1962.
	2006 Replacing a 4-speed automatic, the optional 6-speed automatic included steering wheel paddles for manual operation. Z06 is a hatchback coupe model with a fixed roof panel, and has a 6.0-liter V8, 505 hp engine package capable of going 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds.
	2007 A specially trimmed Corvette convertible is once again the Official Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500 race in 2007. Specific features include Atomic Orange paint, a Z06 rear spoiler, and new "split-spoke" aluminum wheels.
	2008 Base models in 2008 feature a new 6.2-liter V8 engine, and an available "dual-mode" exhaust system which increases horsepower to 436. The 427ci Limited model is available as a coupe only, and comes with a 505-hp 7.0-liter V8 and 6-speed manual transmission.

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