1954 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster (RHD)

Just about the coolest thing on wheels in 1954 was the Chevrolet Corvette, America's first true sports car. Introduced the previous year, the Corvette was a trend-setting machine and had lightweight fibreglass bodywork with futuristic styling derived from a Motorama show car.

Mechanically the first generation Corvette employed the 235.5-cid six-cylinder engine with a triple Carter carburettor set-up and 8.0:1 compression ratio to give 150bhp at 4200rpm. The lack of a manual transmission - all early Corvettes employed the trusty Powerglide automatic - sparked some criticism at the time. Performance was certainly respectable enough, the in-line six pushing the Corvette from 0-60mph in around 11 seconds and the magazine Road & Track was moved to write ?the outstanding characteristic of the Corvette is probably the deceptive performance?.

Available only in Polo White during the first year, for 1954 the colour range was expanded to include Pennant Blue, Sportsman Red and Black. The original E2934 Series remained in production for just three years between 1953 and 1955 and was produced in tiny numbers by Detroit standards - 300 in the first year, 3,640 in the second and 700 in the third. Today these early cars are sought after by Corvette collectors the world over.