These Are the 8 Best Books about the Chevy Corvette

The upcoming mid-engined C8 Corvette represents the next chapter in the Corvette story, one that begins in 1953. It's a rich and fascinating history populated by larger-than-life personalities, incredible events, and, of course, amazing cars. There are a number of terrific Corvette books; following are some of the best.

Bentley Publishers

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$24.95

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If you buy only one book on the subject of Corvette, make it this one. Written by legendary automotive historian and former Car and Driver editor Karl Ludvigsen, this 784-page tome weighs in at almost seven pounds and chronicles the history of the Corvette with rare documents and photos.

Robert Bentley, Inc

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As the godfather of Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov started at Chevrolet in 1953 and served as the car's tireless advocate within General Motors until his retirement in 1975. After, he became the car's goodwill ambassador, appearing at countless events to further the cause, including driving the one-millionth Corvette off the assembly line at Bowling Green and piloting the bulldozer at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the National Corvette Museum. As his official biographer (and also a close friend), author Jerry Burton knew Zora from 1980 until Zora's death in 1996 and spins a ripping good yarn. Duntov's amazing life has all the trappings of a movie—in fact, author Burton is in negotiations with Hollywood to make a feature film based on his book.

Corvette America

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$19.99

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This handy pocket-sized book is densely packed with interesting tidbits including RPO codes, option prices, production numbers, and so forth. Here you will learn that "UU" is the paint code for Rally Red on the 1965 Corvette and that the tire size for the 1963 Corvette was 6.70 x 15. A must-have for those interested in the most arcane of Corvette facts.

Bentley Publishers

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$31.98

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Written by former Car and Driver editor-in-chief and auto-journo legend Don Sherman, this book recounts Sherman's incredibly comprehensive frame-off restoration of a '67 Corvette roadster that had been relegated to a well-used, barely running, no-matching-numbers status. Sherman documents the process of rebuilding the car as an L88 "tribute" car with detailed photographs and step-by-step descriptions of the process. It took Sherman two years to finish the work, and the final result is a gorgeous Sting Ray that would make Zora Arkus-Duntov proud.

Gallery Books

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$19.51

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To cover the transition from the C4 to the C5 Corvette, the late James Schefter flew more than one million miles, spent more than 900 nights in motels, and took more than 20,000 pages of double-spaced notes. The result is a page-turning thriller where the C5 comes to life in the face of seemingly unsurmountable odds.

Motorbooks

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$55.00

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Created in cooperation with General Motors, author Mueller explores the Corvette generations in great detail. More than 500 color and black-and-white photos sourced from GM's Design and Media Archives illustrate the book.

Cartech

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$44.95

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This book documents the wide and varied spectrum of Corvette special editions, including the 1963 Z06, the 1967 L88 roadster, the 1969 aluminum-block ZL1, and all of the anniversary editions. The book delves into the base prices of the cars, their production numbers, and related special features.

Bentley Publishers

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$19.95

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As the successor to Zora Arkus-Duntov, McLellan served as the Corvette's chief engineer from 1975 until his retirement in 1992 and is responsible for the C4 Corvette. McLellan's position allows him to offer unique insights into the Corvette, and details the peaks and valleys that were a part of this period of Corvette history. The book includes original sketches and charts penned by McLellan exclusively for this book, lots of photos from the GM archives, and plenty of his own personal memories from his 32-year tenure at GM.