Evolution of the Corvette (Video)

Taking a virtual tour through the history of the Corvette shows the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Throughout its 65-year lifespan, The Corvette has always adapted well to its surroundings. At it’s core, it’s always remained true to its primary goal: To offer world-class performance at a price the everyman could afford, or at least aspire to.

This video from YouTube channel Cars Evolution demonstrates this very well. Simplified line drawings show the side profile of each Corvette, while basic stats are displayed. Points of note are denoted by blueprint-style leader lines.

Through the evolution of the Corvette, we see it first as a no-nonsense, European style two seat roadster, designed to compete with contemporary import sports cars. As the fifties give way to the Sixties, we see the Corvette shift its focus to trade punches with Ford’s Thunderbird.

With the C2 came a renewed emphasis on high performance, as the Corvette became the thinking man’s muscle car. This concept was further refined with the advent of the C3.

Through the Seventies the ‘Vette adapted to become more of a personal luxury coupe that still offered sports car performance. It was more about survival than anything else. It’s important to remember that even though these late C3s are among the slowest of Corvettes, their performance was on par with their equally smog-strangled contemporaries.

The C4 brought the Corvette into the modern era, and with each successive year and generation since, the Corvette has fought tooth and nail to compete–and win–against high-priced exotics. Throughout all of this, it’s held to a price point that just about any red-blooded American can fantasize about fitting into their monthly budget someday.

We’re not sure what the future of the Corvette will bring, but one thing is clear: It will always be America’s sports car, something we can all be proud of.