After the first year’s production of 300 cars was completed at the plant in Flint, Michigan, the operation was moved to the freshly repurposed St. Louis facility in December 1953, where it was expected that 10,000 Corvettes would be built on an annual basis. In the meantime, future Chief Corvette Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov had been running the Corvette through a series of grueling tests. In an interview he stated, “We had a car in which the two ends were fighting each other. I made some changes, limiting the rear spring travel and putting a larger stabilizer bar in front. Before long I produced a car which I could put into a drift and have it respond as the car should.” Distinguishing 1954 models from their 1953 predecessors was not easy in early production cars but, a running change to longer tailpipes exiting from the rear bumper to minimized exhaust staining was an obvious giveaway. Another revision was the switch from three bullet-type air cleaners to a pair of flat chrome-topped units to reduce noise at full throttle.

This outstanding example offered here for sale is believed to be one of only 100 painted in Sportsmen Red with a red interior and tan soft top. During previous ownership, it has benefited from a documented nut and bolt frame-off restoration. The body was taken off the frame, stripped and refinished to a show quality luster. Under the hood, the 235 CI Blue Flame Six inline 6-cylinder engine has been detailed and presents as it left the factory. The Power-glide automatic transmission sends power to the red-painted steel wheels with bias-ply wide whitewall tires and spinner hubcaps. Due to its high restoration quality, it went on to win multiple NCRS Top Flight awards and was invited to be displayed at the NCRS Gallery at Corvettes At Carlisle.

The early Corvettes generated enough excitement to convince Chevrolet brass that America’s Sports Car would have a future against European competitors and the legend would only grow from there.