Chevrolet
Corvette (1954)

Why it matters

The 1954 model year turned the Corvette from a hand-assembled Motorama showpiece series into a regular production line. Output rose to 3,640 roadsters, roughly twelve times the 1953 total, and every car was a fibreglass-bodied six-cylinder with an automatic gearbox. It is the last Corvette year before the V8 and a manual gearbox arrived in 1955.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Chevrolet had shown the Corvette at GM's 1953 Motorama and put it into production by 30 June 1953; only 300 cars were built that year. For 1954 production moved to a renovated assembly plant in St. Louis, Missouri, where it began in December 1953 and where the Corvette stayed for decades.

The car used the 235 cubic-inch Blue Flame inline six with three carburettors, rated at 150 hp, and a two-speed Powerglide automatic; neither a V8 nor a manual gearbox was offered. Road & Track (June 1954) recorded 0-60 mph in 11.0 seconds and a top speed of 107.1 mph. Most cars were Polo White with a red interior; Pennant Blue, Sportsman Red and Black were also built.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Factory colours & interiors

Original paint and trim, with the number of cars in each where a source gives it.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The registry lists four factory colours: Polo White with red interior and beige top, Pennant Blue with beige interior and beige top, Sportsman Red and Black. The base roadster carried RPO 2934 and the Powerglide RPO 313M. The sample car sold by RM carries identification number E54S003068, showing the E54S prefix pattern for St. Louis-built 1954 cars.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Model Year Highlights: 1954 Corvette (Corvette Action Center) Level B

   • 3640 total 1954 model-year Corvette production, all roadsters (convertibles), as listed by the registry; the colour breakdown on the same page sums to 3,634

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   Corvette history Level C Edmunds · 2013-05-16

   • the same dumpy inline six that powered all Chevys
   • 150-horsepower, 235-cubic-inch six
   • triple Carter side-draft carbs
   • two-speed Powerglide automatic
   • front end was suspended by a primitive independent system
   • rear held up with leaf springs
   • the body was made out of fiberglass instead of steel
   • 53/47 weight distribution over its 102-inch wheelbase

   Accessed 2026-11-13
3. 3
   1954 Corvette Pricing, Factory Options, & Colors – CorvSport Level C

   • 100 1954 Corvettes painted Sportsman Red
   • 4 1954 Corvettes painted Black

   Accessed 2026-11-12