Corvette's four-fold power increase

An American aftermarket parts supplier specialising in GM brands has issued an infographic tracking the Chevy Corvette's power history from 1953 to 2015.

"Horsepower is the most popular metric for sports car performance — both gear heads and enthusiasts want to see power ratings above all else," explained Mike King of newgmparts.com in a press release issued this week.

"What's so fascinating about the Corvette is the way that horsepower quickly rose in the 50s and 60s, dropped off in the 70s, and then dramatically increased in just the last five years."

The first-generation Corvette of 1953 had a 3.9-litre 'Blue Flame' six-cylinder engine under the shapely bonnet. Developing just 150hp (112kW), the six delivered adequate performance in the lightweight (fibreglass) Corvette of the day.

By the time the current 'C7' Corvette arrived last year, power had risen to 650hp (485kW). And the sports car's body weight had risen – packed full of comfort, convenience and safety features – but the all-alloy 6.2-litre V8 was where weight has been saved.

Over the course of the Corvette's history, power has waxed and waned. From the second-generation 'C2' Corvette that entered production in 1963 a 427CDI (7.0-litre) big-block V8 was available – nearly doubling the capacity of the original six-cylinder engine. Big-block engines like the 427 and the 396 ('Porcupine Head') V8s were generating as much as 400hp (298kW) in the Corvette during the 1960s.

But with the introduction of mandatory emissions control legislation and the migration to unleaded petrol in the mid 1970s, the Corvette's power premium was quickly frittered away, falling below 300hp from as early as 1972. Power didn't begin to pick up again for around 10 years, during the C4 era.

"A lot of young enthusiasts don't know that a 1978 Corvette was basically less powerful than a modern-day V6 Camaro," says King. "The 1970s and early 80s were a terrible time for performance enthusiasts."

The C1 Corvette remained in production from 1953 to 1962 and was built at GM's Flint, Michigan plant. Fed by three carburettors, the six-cylinder drove through a two-speed Powerglide (automatic) transmission. Within two years the six had given way to a small-block V8 driving through a three-speed manual gearbox. Two years after that (1957), the SBC –Small-Block Chev – grew in size to 283CID (4.6L) and could be had with fuel injection. The following year Chevrolet introduced a 160MPH speedometer and the engine was replaced in 1962 by a 327CID (5.4L) SBC.

Perhaps the most iconic Corvette is the C2 model introduced in 1962 and running through to 1967. It was this model that introduced the 'Stingray' name and split rear window. The 396CID (6.5L) L78 V8 arrived in 1965 and was succeeded by the same engine displacing 427CID in 1966. In 1967 the V8 became the L88 engine, producing a conservative figure of 430hp (321kW).

Arriving in 1968 was the flamboyant C3 model, based on the Mako Shark II show car and boasting 'coke-bottle' styling with a sharply rising waistline. This is probably the best-known Corvette, but also the one to avoid, according to King, from 1972 through to its termination in 1982. The 435hp 427 was replaced in 1970 by the 454CID (7.4L) V8, developing 390hp (291kW). Emissions control legislation, the oil shock of the early 1970s and mandatory crash-resistant (5MPH or 8km/h impact) bumpers all conspired to emasculate the C3 model. The 350CID (5.7L) SBC was rated as low as 205hp (153kW) by 1975. Even stricter emissions regulations in the state of California ensured the 350 was withdrawn from that market, leaving the 305CID V8 the sole offering in Corvette for that market.

In 1983, Corvette production concluded altogether, but Chevrolet introduced the C4 model in 1984, still producing just 205hp. A 230hp 5.7-litre V8 did arrive on the scene in 1985 however. In 1990 the C4 scored the ZR-1 option with a 5.7-litre V8 producing 375hp (280kW), with a power hike to 405hp (302kW) in 1993.

For 1997 the C5 series introduced the 345hp LS1 engine – and all-aluminium V8 that was seen in Australia powering VT Series II Commodores. From 2001 the Z06 model Corvette was powered by a 385hp LS6 V8, and a year later topped 405hp.

The C6 model made its debut in 2005 and was only replaced by the C7 Corvette last year. Power reached 505hp from 2006, once the C6 was offered with the 7.0-litre V8 in the Z06 option. This series saw the ZR1 model introduce the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 now powering HSV's GTS in the current ('Gen-F') series. The C7 in basic form develops 455hp from its naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8, and the Z06 for the 2015 model year has taken the Corvette's power pinnacle all the way up to 650hp from its 6.2-litre supercharged V8.

Read our drive of seven generations of Corvette