Chevy Will Celebrate 60th Birthday of Corvette at Goodwood

The Chevrolet Corvette is in a boxing match with the Shelby Cobra and Ford Mustang as the most iconic American sports car, but only one of them turns 60 this year and that is the Corvette. Chevy is planning a big birthday party for the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 28 to July 1. 

The original Corvette concept was displayed in 1952 and went on sale in 1953. Designer Harley Earl penned the concept and meant it to fight against sports cars coming to the US from the UK from MG, Jaguar and Triumph.

The Corvette was intended to use a modern body for the time, but mechanically it would borrow from esisting General Motors models. It used a fiberglass body to save weight, and it was cheaper to build. The original engine was a 3.9l inline-six engine with 150hp. The Corvette did not get its first V8 until 1955.

After six generations, Chevrolet has made more than 1.3 million Corvettes.

Chevrolet did not go into detail about what it plans for the event at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.