Touring the Corvette Museum

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The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most recognizable cars in the word, no matter what model year or special edition it happens to be. Corvettes have inspired generation upon generation with is subtle fiberglass body and ever-more-power V8 engines. It was an idea lifted from European sport coupes brought home by returning G.I.s after World War II. America had nothing like these cars until the Corvette (and its cross-town rival, the Thunderbird) before World War II. And unlike the Thunderbird, the Corvette has remained true to its sports coupe roots throughout the entirety of its existence.



I always thought I knew a lot about Corvette history. It is one of my favorite cars, a true automotive icon, and I one day aspire to own one. But then I traveled to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. There I was enlightened by the most complete compendium of Corvette knowledge on the planet, and I left with a much richer understanding of not just the car, but the people who built, owned, and raced Corvettes.
Built in 1994, the Corvette Museum is located just a quarter mile from the Bowling Green Assembly plant where Corvettes have been built for nearly three decades. Corvette production moved from St. Louis to the then-new Bowling Green facility (as an aside, Kentucky recently made the Corvette its state car).


It's hard to miss the Corvette Museum
Pictures: Chris DeMorro

The National Corvette museum is funded by donations and monthly raffles of brand new and one-off Corvettes (as well as a sprinkling of funding from GM to be sure). But what really makes the Corvette Museum work so well are all the dedicated fans who have loaned memorabilia, license plates, and whole cars to the museum to put on display.

The first thing you’ll notice upon entering the parking is a big sign that says “No Burnouts!” Predictably, there are burnouts here and there, but not as many as you might think. The building itself is long, narrow, and has a red drum called the "Sky Dome,” on the end that is 11 stories tall and is home to the Corvette Hall of Fame. On a rotating pedestal near the front doors is the Astro-Vette, a concept car from 1968. It is recognizable as a Corvette, and yet looks like something more akin to a space ship than a car.

The tour begins with a brief movie highlighting the history of the Corvette, as well as a few trivia questions. From there we learn of the Corvette’s early history, as well as the history of its chief architect, Zora Arkus—Duntov.


A fitting tribute to the man who put the Corvette on the path to performance

While Zora did not pen the original Corvette’s design (it was designed as a concept by Robert McLean, and named by Myron Scott) he pushed the car towards performance. He took a 1956 pre-production model to the Daytona Speedway where it ran a 150 mph flying mile, 13 mph than its Ford rival. The Corvette from here on out would always be a sports car, and much is owed to Duntov in that regard. There is a touching tribute to both Zora and his wife, Elfi, right at the beginning of the exhibit, and their ashes are interned at the Corvette Museum.


There is memorabilia like this adorning the walls throughout the museum from all different eras of the Corvette's history

You are then taken back through era-specific exhibits with many cars on loan from devoted Corvette enthusiasts from all over the country. The walls are adorned with memorabilia related to Corvettes, some old classified ads for the cars too. Many of the exhibits list the original purchase price, though these exceptional examples are worth far more these days.


This hood has seen some speed

Corvette Racing, the factory-backed team of Corvette racers, is well-represented at the Corvette Museum. There is an actual hood, all torn and beaten up, hanging in a tribute chamber with pictures and model cars. Towards the other end of the museum is an exhibit showing some of the different technologies employed by the Corvette Racing, like carbon fiber hoods and aluminum space frames. This leads you into the aforementioned Corvette Hall of Fame.


Visible as soon as you enter the Hall of Fame, the metallic-blue Astro II is a mid-engined "What if?"

Rare Corvettes from many different decades are on display here, including many concepts and special editions and a plethora of pace cars from over the years. Two cars stood out though, even amongst this collection of rare cars, the Astro II and the ZR-12 “Falconer.” The Astro II was the first mid-engined Corvette concept from GM, and basically started four decades of rumors about the Corvette “finally” going to a mid-engine layout. The big-block engine was mated to a Tempest transaxle, though this transaxle would never have stood up to abuse on the street. But it is a fantastic find, a car you literally will not find anywhere else.


That is one long Corvette

Then there is the Falconer. GM produced the first Corvette ZR-1 cars in 1984, with help from Lotus. The ZR-1 alone was bad ass, having a L98 DOHC V8, aluminum-block engine and numerous suspension upgrades. The Falconer ZR-12 was essentially a test bed to see how strong the C4’s chassis was. GM dropped a Falconer 600 cubic inch, V-12 engine into the Corvette, which required stretching the chassis by eight inches. Nicknamed “Conan”, it made over 700 horsepower and 700 ft-lbs of torque. Can you imagine if GM had ever actually made a V12 Corvette?


This mural is made up of hundreds of pictures of owners' Corvettes

There are a number of other special Corvettes in the Hall of Fame, including a Callaway twin-turbo, the one-millionth Corvette ever produced. The only 1983 Corvette still left in existence is here also (none were ever sold to the public, and GM crushed all the other models). There is also a tribute era to those who have shown unmatched passion for the Corvette, like Jerry Thompson and Jerry De Lorzenzo. Then it was time to move on the final area of the museum.


Two superchargers are better than one

Here are the Corvettes that many of us might see at local car shows. Wacky, wild, and well-modified, these Corvettes are custom cars made by devoted designers and builders. There are several touching tributes to America and war veterans, as well as some other cars that are just plain old far out, like the UFO. But perhaps my favorite Corvette of the whole experience was the twin-supercharged ’72 Corvette. Maybe it is all that horsepower, or the evilness oozing from every pore. But I love that Corvette.


There are many displays on loan from collectors the world over

There are other things to do at the Corvette Museum, including a café and gift shop as well as monthly events. You can also get a tour of the Corvette factory during the weekday hours, and see plans for the upcoming motorsports park planned for across the highway. If you consider yourself a true Corvette enthusiast, there is no excuse for not taking a road trip this summer to visit the home of one of the most historic and important cars in American history.




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