<Corvette Magazine
sports
cars. And in truth, while the 155-horsepower Blue Flame six-cylinder powerplant
was a strong runner, it wasn’t a world-beater.
The following year found the Corvette struggling for
sales; with more than a third
of the production run of 3,640 left languishing on the showroom floor. Production
was slashed to 700 in 1955 and there was talk of shelving the Corvette despite
the addition of a 265 cid 8-cylinder engine. The power ante was upped again
in 1956 with an optional dual four-barrel carburetor setup delivering 225 horsepower.
Another option, a special high-lift camshaft created by Zora Arkus-Duntov, boosted
power to 240 horses, and performance-minded eyes started opening. Famed Corvette
race driver Doctor Dick
Thompson drove his Corvette to the
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Class
C Production racing title and sales climbed
to 3,467.
Then came an automotive milestone.
It is difficult to overstate the significance of
the 1957 version of the Corvette when it comes to discussing the history of
the marque. Chevrolet in 1957 offered an enlarged V-8, the 283, which was to
become one of the company’s most revered engines ever - the definitive
small-block.
Though
the new motor was essentially the existing 265 bored out 1/8th inch, the Corvette’s
standard four-barrel version now offered 220 horsepower; and dual four-barrel
options pushed the power outage to 245 and 270 horsepower.
It was the next step up, though, that really poured
gas on the fire -