Corvette: Complete Book 5th Ed & Cranswick on Classic 2 Book Set

In this Chevrolet-official reference, relive the evolution of America’s legendary sports car, year by year, through stunning photography, technical specs, and engaging commentary.

Revealing a legacy of speed and innovation over more than seventy years of continuous production, the Corvette has evolved from its 1953 sporty-car debut to today’s world-class supercar. Its fascinating development story and stellar competition record across eight distinct generations are detailed in The Complete Book of Corvette, spanning:

• The 1953 debut model
• The all-conquering L88 of the 1960s
• The twenty-first century Z06
• The innovative E-Ray hybrid
• The 70th anniversary edition
• The 1,064-horsepower, mid-engine Stingray ZR-1
• Prototypes, racers, Indy pace cars, and limited-edition production models

They’re all here as are the key designers and engineers. Every model year is discussed with insightful text, key technical specifications, and beautiful photography culled from the author’s own images and GM’s photographic archives.
 
Chevrolet’s Corvette has consistently set the standard for American high performance and ingenuity, and The Complete Book of Corvette is the ultimate reference to that storied history.

This book charts the rise of America’s only sports car: the Chevrolet Corvette. Its performance, sales and racing achievements are chronicled against a backdrop of industry commentators and key GM and Chevrolet figures; a pictorial presentation of the Plastic Fantastic, depicting its global high performance impact.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the dream of a world class American sports car took some work. Harley Earl and Ed Cole gave Corvette a push start, Zora Arkus Duntov took the Plastic Fantastic into lunar orbit with astronauts! The Corvette’s rise was based on the substance of excellent design, hardware and the racing achievements that followed.

Once established, the Corvette became a Chevrolet icon, utilised by Bow Tie and GM marketing to benefit the automaker. However, Corvette was no loss leader, it earned its keep and the respect of industry commentators. The Corvette maintained all these qualities through the insurance, governmental and fuel crises malaise era. Surviving into the ’80s, with a fresh design that took on all sports car competitors.

Archive images, independent testing, and the viewpoints of Chevrolet and auto industry personalities illustrate the rise and rise of America’s only sports car, including a substantial mid engine genesis. The Corvette has long been a glamour icon, and something of a lady killer; facts support this assertion, and underline the Corvette’s position as an ultimate dream machine!

• Corvette model evolution through the four classic generations
• Full description of Corvette’s technical innovations
• Corvette versus domestic and imported rivals
• Comprehensive coverage of Corvette in racing
• Detailed performance data from independent Corvette testing
• Full business, demographic and market analysis of the Corvette
• Corvette in the media, small screen, big screen and customization
• How Corvette overcame the malaise era
• An eclectic mix of factory and third party archive images
• Corvette modelling and caricatures