Chevy Corvette

Chevy Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette is the sports car that has been manufactured by Chevrolet since 1953. The Chevrolet Corvette has been claimed to be "America's Sports Car". The Chevrolet Corvette was the first all-American sports car built by an American car manufacturer.

For 54 years, Chevy Corvettes have combined very powerful engines with relative affordability. Examples of engine power include the 400 hp (298 kW) LS2 or 505 hp (377 kW) LS7. Older generations of the Corvette have been criticized for being crude and lacking in refinement by European sports car standards, and their on-limit handling is a divisive issue garnering both praise and reproach. Recent generations of the Corvette, however, are widely seen as being much improved in these areas.

There have been six generations of the Chevy Corvette so far. The generations can be referred to as versions Corvette C1 through Corvette C6, but the first generation is more commonly referred to as a solid-axle, based on the fact that independent rear suspension (IRS) was not available until 1963. The first Corvette generation started in 1953 and ended in 1962.
The second or mid-year Chevy Corvette generation, designed by Larry Shinoda, with major inspiration from a previous unproduced design called the "Q Corvette" by Peter Brock and Chuck Pohlmann, and under the styling direction of Bill Mitchell, started in 1963 and ended in 1967. 1963 would see the introduction of the new Corvette Sting Ray coupé with its distinctive split rear window and fake hood vents as well as an independent rear suspension.
The third Chevy Corvette generation, patterned after Chevrolet's "Mako Shark II" (designed by Larry Shinoda), started in 1968 and ended in 1982. This Corvette generation has the distinction of being introduced to the motoring public in an unorthodox — and unintended — fashion. 1968 marked the introduction of Mattel's now-famous Hot Wheels line of 1/64-scale die cast toy cars. General Motors had tried their best to keep the appearance of the upcoming Corvette a secret, but the release of the Hot Wheels line several weeks before the Corvette's unveiling had a certain version of particular interest to Corvette fans: the "Custom Corvette", a GM-authorized model of the 1968 Chevy Corvette.
The highly anticipated fourth generation Corvette began production in March 1983 as a 1984 model. Chevrolet released the Grand Sport version in 1996 to mark the end of the Corvette C4 design.
Production of the C5 Corvette began in 1997 and ended with the 2004 model year.
The new Chevy Corvette C6 got an overhaul of the suspension geometry, all new bodywork with exposed headlamps (for the first time since 1962), a larger passenger compartment, a larger 6.0 L engine, and a higher level of refinement. 

from Wikipedia