Coys Auction - Techno Classica Essen
Essen
Germany
Saturday 2 April 2011
Motor Cars 15:00
Admission by catalogue only - admits two.
Estimate: €45,000 - €60,000
Registration Number: German Registered
Chassis Number: 101376
America started its love affair with the British sports car in the 1950s and it did not go unnoticed that sports cars attracted customers to showrooms. At the time ‘dream cars’ were a feature of American motor shows and late in 1951 Harley Earl, General Motors’ chief stylist, sketched out a sports car named the Corvette which, in January 1953, was shown at the Motorama in New York. Production began in June of the same year with the standard six cylinder 160bhp engine, but by 1956 this had grown into a V8 of 265cu.in., developing between 180 and 220bhp according to the state of tune. A fibreglass body was fitted from the start; early cars could reach 105mph compared to the Ford Thunderbird’s 115mph but the Corvette had superior acceleration and handled better.
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