Vette – September 2019

BY DREW HARDIN (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE H. WHERRY, PETERSEN PUBLISHING CO. ARCHIVE
From the Archives
redo, which grouped all the essential
gauges right in front of the driver.
Mechanically, the 1958 model was little
changed from the previous year, with just
the addition of a few horsepower to the
standard carbureted 283 and top-line
fuel-injected version.
“Does it go?” Wherry asked about the
new car. “Indeed and it should with its
230 bhp.” With a 4.11 Positraction axle
and optional close-ratio four-speed, the
Corvette sprinted to 60 mph in 6.
seconds and 80 mph in 11.0.
ears before a certain movie
franchise co-opted the
phrase, that’s how Motor
Trend contributor Joe H.
Wherry described the 1958
Corvette in a December 1957 “First Feel
Behind the Wheel” driving impression.
The 1958 model is best known, for bet-
ter or worse, for its exterior redesign. GM
as a whole was going through a “more is
better” phase with styling elements, and
the Corvette didn’t escape the trend. The
car was a few inches longer and wider, but
the most obvious changes were the add-
ons: quad headlamps, larger front bumpers
with ornamental ducts behind them, a
restyled grille, chrome trim on the fender
tops and faux louvers on the hood. The
side coves now had their own simulated
air ducts and chrome trim, and there was
more chrome in back in the form
of two trim strips running the length
of the decklid.
Reactions to the new exterior were
mixed, to say the least. But the car received
nearly unanimous praise for its interior
Fast, Furious and Wonderful
Even the car’s styling, he felt, was “kept in line with the dreams of enthusiasts.”
As long as those enthusiasts dream of lots of sparkly chrome.
10 VETTE 19.