1958 Chevrolet Corvette

This 1958 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible is a gorgeous C1 Corvette sporting performance upgrades and finished in the ultra rare Panama Yellow! When Chevrolet displayed its 2 seater Show Car then known as the EX-122 at the 1952 Motorama, it was a quite a novel idea. First of all, a 2-seat American-made sports car was unheard of in the day with the genre dominated by European imports. Second, the EX-122 was a fiberglass-bodied car which further added to the car's uniqueness. While it's extremely rare for show cars to be placed into production, Chevrolet bucked that trend and actually began producing an EX-122 successor in 1953. That car was named the Corvette and became one of Chevrolet's greatest successes and became one of the greatest American made cars of all time. The earliest Corvettes had the looks of a sports car but were pretty modest in terms of performance, sporting inline 6 cylinder engines under the hood, automatic transmissions, and minimal options, and it wasn't until a few years into Corvette production that they began to garner their performance-oriented reputation. By 1958, the Corvette had solidified itself as American's sports car and outfitted with the engines, transmissions, and rear ends to stand up to the European cars it was designed to compete with. Many contend that the 1958 Corvette was the pinnacle of C1 Corvette styling! The '58 Vette's look was more jazzed up than any C1 Corvette before it, or even after it, and that was exceedingly evident from nose to tail. Up front, the most quintessential upgrade was made to the faux-louvered hood, a one-year 1958 only hood for the Corvette. Additionally, the front end treatment got a brand new look with the shift from single headlight on each side to a pair of headlights on either side of the iconic, albeit updated, sawtooth grille now with 4 fewer vertical teeth. Looking from the side view, the 1958 Corvette saw the addition of 3 chrome horizontal strips incorporated into the side coves that added even more panache to the 'Vette. From the back, the 1958 Corvette is unmistakable, outfitted with a pair of chrome bars running down the trunk lid-another 1958 one-year only feature. Moreover, the front and rear bumpers were enlarged from previous year models capping off the pizazz-filled Corvette. But it wasn't just the exteriors that got updated; in fact, the interiors were significantly updated as well. The dash and instrument clusters were considerably upgraded, giving the cockpit a modern racing-inspired look and feel. On the passenger side, the '58 Corvette also saw the addition of the famous grab bar that would also be carried forward in the years that followed. The seats were also modernized, replacing the old waffle patterned upholstery with a more contemporary pleated look that would be carried forward for many years. With all of the updates, both inside and out, 1958 saw a huge bump in sales for the Corvette, representing an approximate 30% increase in total production during the '58 model year. Nonetheless, less than 10,000 Corvettes were produced in 1958, which makes this 1958 'Vette quite a rare car in the grand scheme. This particular example comes to us from a southern-based collector who stewarded the car for the past 10 years. Under the louvered hood of this '58 Corvette is an upgraded 350 cubic inch V8 fed by a single 4 barrel carburetor. The ignition system has also been upgraded to an electronic ignition system resulting in more reliable performance above the stock points and condenser setup. The small block Chevy V8 is backed by a 4 speed manual transmission that is shifted with a Hurst floor-mounted shifter, making for a super fun car to take on a summer drive. Exhaust exits via a dual exhaust setup that generates a terrific throaty sound out of the thru-bumper tailpipes. The chrome driver's side mirror is a wonderful and welcome addition on any 50's convertible since it improves the overall driving experience and mak