1954 Chevrolet Corvette

*1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster*® In the early 1950s, General Motorsâ head of design Harley Earl wanted to push Chevrolet into the sports car market, producing cars that would appeal to younger buyers. In January of 1953, Chevrolet launched the first ever Corvette, with a plan to produce just 300 cars for the year. In 1953, these fiberglass sports cars were all finished in Polo White over a red interior, and they sold out quickly. With the success of the 1953 car, Chevrolet tooled up for larger scale production in 1954, which was to include more options and colors for the car. This 1954 Corvette is 1 of 100 for the year produced in Sportsman Red, and has been restored to Bloomington Gold quality, gaining certification in 2015.® In the world of classic car judging, there are people who are particular about cars - and then there are Corvette judges. Known as some of the strictest, most detail oriented people in the classic car community, if a car is restored to a point where it scores high marks with the top Corvette judges, you know it is something special. This car was completely restored with Bloomington Gold and National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) judging in mind - and it has the track record to prove it. Upon completing the restoration in 2015, the car went on to gain Bloomington Gold certification, followed by numerous NCRS Top Flight awards in both regional and national competitions. Some of the highlights include winning the 2015 NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award at the Corvette National Convention, as well as a score of 99.3/100 at the 2016 NCRS Top Flight Awards. The car has also taken home trophies at a number of Concours events in the South East including the Hilton Head Concours dâElegance.® Although this car was clearly painstakingly restored to bring it to factory fresh, it is quite a unique car in its own right, originally built with a remarkably high specification. Although there werenât many options available at the time, this example is fitted with a red interior, as well as an optional heater, signal seeking AM radio, courtesy lights, directional signals, a parking brake alarm, windshield washers and white wall tires. As you would expect, all of those items are still present and accounted for, and remain in remarkable working order.® These days, the Corvette is known to all as a car powered by a big V8, but for the first two years of production, that engine wasnât even on the table. Instead, 1953 and 1954 Corvettes were powered by a 235ci âBlue Flameâ Inline-6, which was rated from the factory at 155 horsepower. Flanked with a trio of carburetors, the Blue Flame was enough to keep the car competitive against its rivals at the time from a performance standpoint, and remains the only production Corvette to have been powered by anything other than a V8. This engine sends power to the rear wheels via a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission.® There is no doubt that the original Corvette design is stunning,