A Little History

It was only appropriate to document the Historical 50th Anniversary of the Corvette with a Photo Series of the five generations that made up these 50 years. 

Since we owned a Torch Red '93, we set out to find a Red Convertible (torch red or close) to represent each of the five generations for this photo shoot.  Our first quest was on our trip to Nashville, TN, & Bowling Green, KY, for the 50th Celebration in June of 2003 - this quest turned up a bust with us unsuccessful in finding a C1 willing to participate.  While at the Cowtown Vettes Annual Car Show, it dawned on me that we had representation of all five generations of red convertibles, four of which were CTV members - now it was time for History!!!!  Thanks to Don, Fred, Jim & Gail agreeing to do the photo shoot, my quest for a Five Generation Picture was going to be a reality.

Within each generation of Vette, several models were produced, which did result in changes for each model year, some more significant than others.  Our Five Generation Photo Series does provide a look a the major styling differences of the C1 thru the C5 Corvettes.  From what we all know, the C5 generation will end with the 2004 model year Corvette - the C6 will debut in 2005.

America's Sports Car Lineup - The Corvette Generations

The 50 Year, 5 Generation, RED Convertible Corvette Collage - each of the 5 wheel openings contain a photo series of each of the 5 generations - outside of the wheel are photos of the 5 generations together.  (More Poster Pics w/pricing)

(this image was created for printing as a large Poster - 24" x 36")

America's Sports Car Lineup - The Corvette Generations

C1

'53-'62

(10 Model Years)

C2

'63-'67

(5 Model Years)

C3

'68-'82

(15 Model Years)

C4

'83-'96

(14 Model Years)

C5

'97-'04

(8 Model Years)

1958

Don & Karyn

Fowler

1965

Fred & Donna

Rosett

1969

Jim & Carol

Richmond

1993

Doug & Glenda

McMahan

2001

Jerry & Gail

Moore

'58 Facts:

'58 changes included new body panels, new instrumentation with tach, new upholstery, factory installed seat belts, louvered hood, chrome trunk spears, the first Vette with four headlights, only nine teeth in the grill, and all were painted with acrylic lacquer

9,168 Convertibles with a $3,591 base price

1,399 painted Signet red, 756 which had the 2-tone white cove

'65 Facts:

The '65 had a black painted grill, the front fender louvers changed to three functional units, four wheel disc brakes were standard, instrumentation was changed to black with white faces, optional knock-off wheels with gray paint between fins, the first power antenna as standard, new upholstery features, it was the last year for fuel injection until the throttle body in '82, side-mount exhausts, teakwood steering wheels, telescopic steering columns and goldwall tires debuted

15,378 Convertibles with a $4,106 base price

7,983 with white tops

3,688 were painted Rally red (cpe & Conv)

'69 Facts:

The '69 production year had a production of 38,762 which was a record not broken until '76.  Options included side exhaust, the ignition key was moved to the column which touted a 15" instead of a 16" steering wheel.  The wheel width went from 7" to 8", the fender vents changed, the V8 went from 327 to 350 cu in displacement along with "Stingray" (one word) reappeared on the car's exterior.

16,633 Convertibles with $4,781 base price

15,347 blk vinyl interior,

'93 Facts:

Vette's 40th Anniversary brought a special edition Ruby Red option, all leather seating with 40th logo on the headrest, subtle changes to the base LT1 which made it quieter and increased torque from 330 to 350 lb/ft, the passive keyless entry (PKE) system debuted (GM first), 8.5 x 17" / P255 / 45ZR17 front and 9.5 x 17" / P285 /40ZR17 rear wheels & tires as standard, the wheels were machine finished

5,692 Convertibles with a $41,195 base price

3,172 Torch Red - a new color in '93 (total qty for cpe & conv)

996 white tops

703 red leather interior

'01 Facts:

This was the debut of the Z06 model, which touted a 385hp LS6 engine with titanium exhaust system, Goodyear F1 Supercar tires (non-run flat) on unique wheels with interior and exterior trim differences - all hardtops for '01 were Z06 models.  For standard models, there was an increase to 350HP, maximum oil change interval increased from 10k to 15k miles, a lighter more durable battery with absorbent glass mat (AGM), better weather stripping, second generation active handling was standard and all '01 engines were built in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

14,173 Convertibles with $47,500 base price

7,192 were Torch Red (cpe & conv)

The Five Generation Circle

Fred had a good idea to circle the cars end-to-end for a few pictures