Chevrolet Corvette Roadster - 1953 and 1954
Car scale model kit in 1/24 scale manufactured by Revell (ref. REV07718, also 4009803077185 and 07718)

The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette is the first of a whole mythical saga, but it is curious that even Chevrolet itself recognizes that the first Corvette was produced hastily. The model had been presented on January 17, 1953 at the Motorama, and after a gestation period of only seven months, it began to be assembled on June 30, 1953 at the Flint factory in Michigan.

That first Corvette, of which 300 were built in 1953, were poorly built, plus they were all the same, white with a black top and red-trimmed interior. The engine used was the 6-cylinder Blue Flame also used in the brand's sedans, although with power increased to 150 CV instead of the usual 105 CV of those. The gearbox was a two-speed automatic Power Glide, the only one of the brand capable of managing the power of the engine.

The Corvette was the response of the first world automobile manufacturer of those times to the growing interest in sports cars such as the MG TD and TF, the Jaguar XK 120 or the Porsche 356, imported in growing numbers in the US market. And that growing interest was reflected as soon as the Corvette's release on the market was announced, with more than 20,000 purchase requests received.

In 1954 the Corvette continued without major changes, although production had been moved to Saint-Louis, with 3,640 being built that year. The biggest change was that the Corvettes were no longer all exclusively white, other colors such as red, sky blue or black being available, now also with a beige hood.

Among Corvette owners themselves, its exterior styling, engine performance and power, and its handling qualities and stability were its most praised characteristics, while its water and air leaks, the construction of its hood, complicated to fit with an operation that could take up to 5 minutes, and the bonnet seal were its most criticized features.

When 1955 arrived, only 700 were manufactured. They kept the same bodywork, but the changes included a 12V electrical installation and, above all, the possibility of mounting a three-speed manual gearbox and the new Chevrolet V8 engine, a 4.3 195 CV version that was offered together with the 155 CV 6-cylinder version with the 6V electrical system.

It wasn't until 1956 that significant improvements and tweaks were introduced, followed by many more before the appearance of the second Corvette series in 1963.