The first Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.
The Chevrolet Corvette, colloquially known as the 'Vette, is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet across more than 60 years of production and eight design generations. From 1953 to 2019, it was front-engined, and since 2020, it is mid-engined. With its generations noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette serves as Chevrolet's halo vehicle and is noted for its performance and distinctive plastic bodywork, either fiberglass or composite.
In 1953, GM executives accepted a suggestion by Myron Scott, then the assistant director of the Public Relations department, to name the company's new sports car after the small maneuverable warship. The first model, a convertible, was introduced at the 1953 GM Motorama as a concept car; production models went on sale later that year. In 1963, the second generation was introduced in coupe and convertible styles. Originally manufactured in Flint, Michigan, and St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette has since 1981 been manufactured in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This is also where the National Corvette Museum resides, which houses many iterations of the car.
The Corvette has become widely known as "America's Sports Car." Automotive News wrote that after being featured in the early 1960s television show Route 66, "the Corvette became synonymous with freedom and adventure," ultimately becoming both "the most successful concept car in history and the most popular sports car in history."