My wife often asks me about those Corvettes, and I usually can't tell her what vintage the car is we're looking at. Put bluntly, I am not interested in Corvettes other than the earliest versions. I don't really know why. One possible reason is that for many years automobile magazines have been stressing Corvette performance -- for me a largely abstract matter because I never could afford to buy a high-performance car.
Anyway, I was becoming ashamed that I couldn't be sure that a parked Corvette was a C6 or some other generation model. ("C" numbers are retrospective/current generation assignments for Corvettes. The image captions below include the C number of each car shown.) So I decided it was time to get more Corvette-savvy and write this post.
Given that there are eight Corvette generations plus important differences within the first generation, I'm limiting Gallery images to left-side profile photos.
The original Corvette.
It was given a major facelift for '56. This has always been my favorite Corvette design.
Then for 1958 there was another major facelift featuring revised front end styling that included quad headlights (ugh!!). Ruined the design, I've always thought.
A classic Corvette design. Fussy, but intriguing -- especially the split rear window found on '63s only.
In some ways a cleaned-up C2. Conventional fenders, for example.
Long front overhang plus the aft-of-center driver's position resulted in a hood too long for even a hood-fan like me.
Styled during Wayne Cherry's tenure as General Motors' design leader. He seemed to favor softer, aerodynamic shapes for GM cars including Corvette.
Many similar details to the C5, but differently proportioned.
Jazzy, slashy sculpting in line with the fad/fashion of the day (and now). It does have an harsh, purposeful appearance. Definite break from the cleaner C3-C6 generations.
The basic shape dictated by the "mid"-engine layout. Plenty of visual noise, screaming that the owner drives a truly hot car. Good marketing, at least.
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