The dream child of legendary designer Harley Earl, this first-year 1953 Corvette is among the most-storied introductions in the history of American auto manufacturing. Desiring that his employer General Motors have a vehicle akin to some of Europe’s fabled sports cars, Earl and engineer Robert McLean spearheaded an effort that united off-the-shelf Chevrolet suspension components, a reconfigured frame design and a stylized fiberglass shell for the 1953 Motorama tour. By mid-year, public demand to own a Corvette was high enough to justify production, with a mere 300 examples of this car being hand-built before the end of that model year. This particular example was Bloomington Gold Certified in 2004, is noted as No. 147 of the 300 produced and was previously owned by renowned collectors Chip Miller, Al Wiseman and Jack Kershlis. It has been the subject of a comprehensive refreshing administered by Kershlis, and like all of the examples built that first year, power came from a 150 HP version of the company’s long-running 235 CI Blue Flame straight-6. Working with driveline developers, a trio of Carter carburetors, higher compression and updated cam timing were added, aiding its performance potential, and in keeping with the standard equipment theme, the Powerglide was pre-selected as the transmission in these cars. All 1953 Corvettes were hand-built in Flint, Michigan, that first year, and all were painted in Polo White and fitted with Red interior. Chief Engineer and future GM President Ed Cole is noted as having made sure that Corvette went from its conceptual origins to a true production model, and in 1955, Chevrolet would introduce its small-block V-8 in large part to repower this vehicle, setting the stage for decades of history. In 1953, the year that first handful of cars arrived, it was the risk by these men at GM (the world’s largest corporation at the time) that resulted in what is truly an American icon. Well worth your examination, this automobile’s heritage is undeniable, and the possession of one of these cars is of both honor and near-singularity.