The First Corvette came out with a 6 cylinder engine in June 1953 and was not a success until Zora Arkus Duntov and Bill Mitchell found a bigger motor in 1955-56 [ 265 then 283 V8 ]. It also had small fins with the tail light at the peak.

As Ken H mentioned the C1 changed with later a rounded tail [ fins removed ], then, twin headlights, and finally a kicked up tail - that carried over to the '63 Stingray.

Variations of the V8 C1, photos from Ken H archives 1957 and 1958-actually a 61-62 and a recent photo by Nigel Watts -middle photo

1957 [ 1956 - 1957 ]
Name: Corvette #157 1957 Corvette Ken H archives .jpg Views: 1807 Size: 186.9 KB

1958-60/61
Name: Corvette #158 1958-60 Corvette Te Aroha Cruise in 2020 2020-0019 Nigel Watts .jpg Views: 672 Size: 163.3 KB

1961-62
Name: Corvette #162 1962 Black-Chevrolet-Corvette-C1-Poster Ken H archives.jpg Views: 731 Size: 129.8 KB

The Nigel Watts photo at the Te Aroha Cruise In recently - Rego MHP222 -
" Year: 1958
Make: CHEVROLET
Model: CORVETTE
Colour: GREY
Body Style: Convertible
VIN: 7AT02R05X19104277
Plate: MHP222
Engine No: COVERED
Chassis: J58S104277
Vehicle Type: Passenger Car/Van
Seats: 2
CC rating: 4,637cc "

Cheers Ken H and Nigel - hijacked the thread a bit !!