1959 Chevrolet Corvette

Stylish C1-typical colour scheme in two-tone paint finish Roman Red with white and leather interior in red

Retrofitted powerful V8 engine from GML, type 350 cid ‘LS 9’ with 5.7 litre displacement and 255 hp (188 KW)

Reinforced steering column with rack-and-pinion steering and power steering

Front axle converted to disc brakes for better drivability

Manual 4-speed gearbox

High-quality restoration in complete condition with renewed paintwork, original and refurbished interior

In Germany since 2014 and with the last owner since 2015

Equipment: power windows, whitewall tyres, US AM radio

An American design icon of the 1950s

Documents: German registration for historic vehicles, original US title, TÜV reports, TÜV certification for German registration

The Chevrolet Corvette C1 is the first generation of the Corvette, which was introduced in 1953. The response was very positive - because Chevrolet had succeeded in developing a sports car that could compete conceptually and visually with European models. The design of the roadster goes back to Hearly Earl, the inventor of the tail fin. The C1 was the first mass-produced automobile with a fiberglass body. Initially, the C1 had a six-cylinder in-line engine with a displacement of 3.8 liters and only 150/155 hp. This output was too low, especially by US standards, and the driving performance did not correspond to that of a sports car, even by the standards of the time. Measured against this, the C1 was also too expensive - other brands had more attractive offers. As a result, sales success was initially very limited - despite the great success of the presentation. The C1 was successfully relaunched in 1955 with the new “small-block” V8 engine. The engineer responsible, Zora Arkus-Duntov, who was also a racing driver, adapted the Corvette to this engine and installed disc brakes, fuel injection and a sharper camshaft. The V8 now drew 195 hp from a displacement of 4.3 liters and demonstrated appropriate performance for a sports car. The most important visual revision took place in 1956, when the implied rear fins were removed, replaced by side indentations behind the front wheels and the first two-tone paintwork. The hardtop was supplied ex works. The headlights, which had previously been integrated into the bodywork, were now exposed and protruded slightly. Twin headlights were available from 1958. In the years that followed, the performance of various engines with fuel injection or carburetors was steadily increased. In 1962, the most powerful version had a displacement of 5.3 liters and barely reached 360 hp. Various manual and automatic gearboxes were available, with manual gearboxes accounting for a significant proportion, which was not typical in the USA. From 1953 to 1962, a total of 69,015 units were produced and underwent several visual and technical revisions during this period. In 1963, the successor C2 was introduced, which was available as a coupé and open roadster.