This one-of-a-kind “proposal car” is an integral part of the Corvette story, with a fascinating history that dates to early 1953—well before the first production models rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Mich.
Prior to series Corvette production, which commenced on June 30, 1953, Chevrolet built approximately 15 hand-laid fiberglass Corvette bodies intended for experimental or Motorama use. These hand-built show cars were not assigned standard VINs, but were instead referred to by internal codes. One such code was EX-52, the first Corvette prototype unveiled to the public at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 1953. Like other General Motors experimental and factory custom cars, all of these show cars additionally received Shop Order (S.O.) (S.O. 2071), (S.O. 1954) and hardtop (S.O. 2000). As documented in internal GM memos, many of these show cars were destroyed or reused for other projects and then destroyed. As a result, precious few of these Motorama-era prototypes survive today.
