The Corvette first made its debut in 1953 when it was the first mass-produced car to feature an all-fiberglass body. The one-of-a-kind C1 Corvette factory paint colors are unique to this period and set these cars apart from anything that had ever been done before.
The two-seater roadster was only available in polo white with a red interior, and certainly looked the part, but fell behind authentic sports cars with its six-cylinder engine and a two-speed automatic transmission. The first generation might have only sold 183 out of the 300 units produced in Flint, MI, but this Corvette made a lasting impression and set the standard for design for future Corvettes.
Throughout C1 production, which continued until 1962, the Corvette increased in power. The six-cylinder engine was upgraded to a V8 and three and four-speed manual gearboxes eventually became available. The manual transmission became standard in 1956. By its last year of production in 1962, the C1 could pack up to 340 horsepower–a significant increase from the 150hp of the first model in 1953.
The C1 Corvette factory paint colors used until 1957 were nitrocellulose lacquer. In 1957, the first Corvette colors to be in the (then-new) acrylic lacquer were Inca Silver and Imperial Ivory. All paint colors from 1958-1962 were acrylic lacquer.
C1 Corvette Colors Available By Year
While certain C1 Corvette factory paint colors were designated to specific production years, others were available across multiple years. Here’s a list of their color names, production years, and the total quantity produced:
1953 C1 Corvette Colors
- Polo White (300 produced)
1954 C1 Corvette Colors
- Polo White (3,230 produced)
- Pennant Blue (300 produced)
- Sportsman Red (100 produced)
- Black (4 produced)
1955 C1 Corvette Colors
- Polo White 567 (325 produced)
- Pennant Blue Metallic 570 (45 produced)
- Corvette Copper Metallic 573 (15 produced)
- Gypsy Red 596 (180 produced)
- Harvest Gold 632 (120 produced)
1956 C1 Corvette Colors
- Onyx Black* (810 produced)
- Aztec Copper Metallic** (402 produced)
- Cascade Green** (290 produced)
- Arctic Blue* (390 produced)
- Venetian Red** (1,043 produced)
- Polo White* (532 produced)
1956 Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Silver
- ** Beige
1957 C1 Corvette Colors
- Onyx Black* (2,189 produced)
- Aztec Copper Metallic** (452 produced)
- Cascade Green** (550 produced)
- Arctic Blue* ** *** (487 produced)
- Venetian Red** (1,320 produced)
- Polo White* (1,273 produced)
- Inca Silver Metallic**** ***** (65 produced)
1957 Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Silver
- ** Beige
- *** Red
- ****Ivory
- ***** Inca Silver
1958 C1 Corvette Colors
- Charcoal Metallic* (1,631 produced)
- Snowcrest White* (2,477 produced)
- Silver Blue Metallic* (2,006 produced)
- Regal Turquoise Metallic** (510 produced)
- Panama Yellow** (455 produced)
- Signet Red** (1,399 produced)
- Tuxedo Black* (493 produced)
- Inca Silver Metallic*** (193 produced)
1958 Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Inca Silver
- ** Snowcrest White
- *** Black
1959 C1 Corvette Colors
- Tuxedo Black* (1,594 produced)
- Classic Cream** (223 produced)
- Frost Blue Metallic** (1,024 produced)
- Crown Sapphire Metallic** (888 produced)
- Roman Red** (1,542 produced)
- Snowcrest White* (3,354 produced)
- Inca Silver Metallic** (957 produced)
1959 Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Inca Silver
- ** Snowcrest White
1960 C1 Corvette Colors
- Tuxedo Black* (1,268 produced)
- Tasco Turquoise Metallic** (635 produced)
- Horizon Blue** (766 produced)
- Honduras Maroon Metallic** (1,202 produced)
- Roman Red** (1,529 produced)
- Ermine White* (3,717 produced)
- Sateen Silver Metallic** (989 produced)
- Cascade Green Metallic** (140 produced)
1960 Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Silver
- ** White
1961 C1 Corvette Colors
- Tuxedo Black* (1,340 produced)
- Ermine White* (3,178 produced)
- Roman Red** (1,794 produced)
- Sateen Silver* (747 produced)
- Jewel Blue Metallic** (855 produced)
- Fawn Beige Metallic* (1,363 produced)
- Honduras Maroon Metallic** (1,645 produced)
Optional Side Cove Colors
- * Silver
- ** White
1962 C1 Corvette Colors
- Tuxedo Black
- Fawn Beige Metallic (1,851 produced)
- Roman Red
- Ermine White
- Almond Beige (820 produced)
- Sateen Silver Metallic
- Honduras Maroon
Side panel cove depressions were painted either to match the body color or in a contrasting color (Two-Tone Exterior Paint Option #440). Two-tone cove paint was applied with minimal masking. Masking was behind the stainless cove moldings, extended to the lower front fender lip, and wrapped around the body. There was little to no masking done in the door jamb to fender juncture. Overspray flowed into the door jamb area and the paint stopped approximately at the centerline of the front wheel lip. No masking was done at the fender lip and the cover color just faded.
Get Original C1 Corvette Factory Paint Colors at Corvette Central
If you’re looking to restore your C1 Corvette’s original paint color, look no further than Corvette Central. We supply a complete catalog of Corvette paints that match OEM colors, as well as the additional tools you need to complete the job. For more information, contact our Corvette restoration experts online.
Our 59 spare tire well shows drips of the snowcrest white, along the sides. Appears original. Is this possible that the factory wasn’t all that concerned back in 59 about the tire well paint appearance?
I have a 1961 ,bought it in 1965. It was factory Jewel Blue Metallic: with Ermine White coves.
I am stripping the car now and will need paint in the future. I am not sure of the volume needed to paint the car. I trust your judgement on that. I having bought parts from you in the past and found your service to be great. Pleast let me know what your thoughts are on proper under coating and paint. Thank you for any help you can offer.
Painting a car is very particular and depends greatly on exactly what type of paint and finish you intend to use. We don’t do any sort of body work, I would recommend getting with a reputable local body shop and make sure you thoroughly hash out the specifics of your paint job.
Robert, If you are going with the original color Jewel Blue. I suggest that you find a place on your car that has the original color still showing that hasn’t been expose to the elements. Perhaps in the trunk, behind the seats, under the dash to see what the color was like originally and have your new paint mixed so it matches as close a possible. Since you have owned it all those years you may not be happy with the paint color the paint Company’s now call Jewel Blue. I hope you enjoy your 1961 Corvette for many more years. Bill
Finding a spot on your car that has not been Sun bleached or element reached is the smartest idea. Looking behind the seats behind the dash in hidden areas that a trunk that don’t get rubbed or touched in any way would have near the truest color that it originally was which can also have a dial-up change between different models painted a different times of the factories production of that year. Making sure that you like the color in one of those hidden areas would be an idea of thing to make sure before you go for a new paint. If you can get that paint on those hidden areas exposed or part removed with that paint on it removed in a large enough section without being too big that a company could completely read and diagnose the colors in that paint to recreate that same paint color that would be a good idea. Also remember that the paint May dry in a different color or tone if you will other than what it looks like when it’s wet. Good luck on finding your pain color to try to match the original paint would be neat to see the car finished.
Since C1 Corvettes came with a limited set of colors, you could just look at it if you’re doing a factory restoration. If you’re doing a resto-mod, you’ll want some color cards from your paint shop. There are some nice custom colors in the world nowadays.
My question, and anybody can answer — what color was the underside of a C1 painted? Was it the body color? Specifically, this would be a plastic model of a Roman Red ’60 C1. It’ll have a silver side panel. I’m not enough of a ‘Vette aficionado to know whether this was an order able option, bur since it’s 1/25 scale, “numbers matching” doesn’t count. So was a ’60 C1 painted body color underneath, or were they all white or primer gray, or primer red?