A prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car debuts at General Motors’ Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Jan. 17, 1953.
In the early 1950s, Harley Earl, the influential head designer for GM, became interested in developing a two-seat sports car. European automakers had ruled the sports car market for years.
That first Corvette, code-named Opel, was created in almost total secrecy within GM — a tradition that continues to this day.
The first production Corvette was built at a GM plant in Flint, Mich., on June 30, 1953.
The fiberglass-bodied car was an immediate sensation.
The Corvette, named after a fast type of naval warship, became an American legend and remains in production today.