The Chevrolet Corvette rolled out of Flint, Michigan in 1953 and has never stopped—eight generations, no domestic rivals left standing. It nearly didn't happen. Fiberglass over a 3.9-liter straight-six, two-speed automatic, Chevrolet's answer to the lean British roadsters of the postwar years—it debuted at GM's Motorama in the Waldorf-Astoria and promptly sold almost none of its 300 hand-assembled units. A quiet beginning for what would become America's sports car. Land vehicle, Vehicle, Car, Motor vehicle, Sports car, Automotive design, Performance car, Hood, Chevrolet corvette c6 zr1, Luxury vehicle.the first Corvette in more than four decades to sport exposed front lamps. The new Vette is 5.1 inches shorter than its predecessor. Its wheelbase, however, The sixth-generation Corvette is unveiled at the 2004 Detroit auto show. The model is, for the most part, an evolution of its predecessor, though whether evolution is the right word depends on who you ask. Chevy makes the decision to ditch the Corvette's several-generations-running hidden headlights, a choice that is either revolutionary or a quiet betrayal, making the 2005 Corvette measures 1.2 inches longer.