Chevrolet Corvette – The Car’s The Star

The Chevrolet Corvette has enjoyed its fair share of celluloid real estate over the years. From astronaut Jim Lovell’s whip in Apollo 13 to Felicity Shagwell’s chariot of choice in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the Corvette has been well represented on the silver screen. And rightly so if you ask us. Debuting in 1953 the Corvette turns 70 next year and is still going great guns today, testament to its enduring popularity and lasting ability to make car fans the world over salivate uncontrollably. It’s classic American metal at its finest and goes down in history as a truly iconic piece of automotive machinery.

With such a rich and abiding history it’s no wonder, then, that it should have popped up regularly in film and television over the years and we all know what a yardstick that is as a measure of universal approval. Alongside cars like the Mini and VW Beetle the American-as-apple-pie Corvette has transcended mere metal and become part of popular culture as a whole so join us, dear reader, as we take a look at our pick of five of the Chevrolet Corvette’s starring roles.

1) Corvette Summer – 1978

With a name like that this particular film surely has to be first on the list. Following the successful destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars as Luke Skywalker (you may have heard of him), Mark Hamill went on to star in this not-so-revered adventure comedy about a teenager who attempts to track down a ’73 Corvette C3 after it gets stolen from his school’s shop class following its liberation from a scrap heap and subsequent “restoration”. But this isn’t just any old C3. Oh no. This one has been spectacularly (for want of a better word) modified with side pipes, a rather unsightly bonnet bulge and an extreme paint job.

It’s ostentatious to say the least but there is some great footage of the car, especially when it goes head-to-head with a Trans-Am towards the end of the movie. The film concludes with Hamill’s character reclaiming the Corvette and getting the girl, not to mention his high school diploma. The car is most definitely the highlight though and survives today in America’s National Corvette Museum. Yes, that’s a thing and is further validation of the car’s perennial popularity.

2) Con Air – 1997

Perhaps more well-known for the classic “put the bunny back in the box” line delivered in laconic southern drawl by Nicolas Cage’s character, Cameron Poe, 1997’s action romp Con Air is also notable for the convertible ’67 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray featured. Particularly for the way in which it meets its demise.

Belonging to a rather imperious Colm Meaney as DEA agent Duncan Malloy, the car, after being driven rather enthusiastically (albeit in a straight line) by John Cusack’s character, is dragged through the air after becoming attached to a fleeing C-123 military transport plane. Following a brief flight the C2 Corvette is then unceremoniously dumped back to terra firma in front of its considerably perturbed owner, in bits.

3) The A-Team – 1983-1987

It’s not just the big screen where the Corvette has found fame. The car is equally at home on television and the A-Team is perhaps the best example of this. The much-loved 1980s action-adventure series won the hearts and minds of many a viewer, including ours, when it hit the screens in ’83. Following the exploits of a disgraced former military special forces unit the show was an instant hit and although perhaps overshadowed by B.A. Baracus’ GMC Vandura, the Corvette owned and driven by Faceman was still a memorable character in itself.

The car – a particularly flamboyant white convertible Chevrolet Corvette C4 – was the perfect choice for the suave, smooth-talking Arthur Templeton “Faceman” Peck and had a fair amount of screen time over the show’s production run. The C4 was a bit of a departure from the previous C3 and featured a completely new chassis and more modern styling but the lineage of the model is still plain to see and the 5.7-litre V8 under that long bonnet is ever-present.

4) Rush Hour – 1998

Another C3 Corvette but this time wrestling for screen time alongside Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the 1998 buddy action comedy Rush Hour. The car in question is a beautiful black 1972 Stingray model with wire wheels belonging to Tucker’s character James Carter. Well known for the scene whereby Carter reprimands Chan’s character for touching his stereo to play The Beach Boys the pair later go on to create a memorable scene by dancing to War by Edwin Starr and subsequently seguing into Kung-Fu with the car featuring prominently in the background.

With a good chunk of time on screen the Corvette would reprise its role in the movie’s sequel, the imaginatively titled Rush Hour 2. The car features heavily in this second instalment too, ferrying the two protagonists around various locations.

5) King of the Mountain – 1981

Starring the late, great Dennis Hopper 1981’s King of the Mountain is ostensibly a film about street racing that was inspired by real life events. It features a group of friends who speed up and down the eponymous mountain that is Mulholland Drive in L.A. for both cash and kudos. The Corvette in question is a rather ratty looking 1967 C2 Stingray, sans bonnet, bumpers and rear window. With dished slot mags and side pipes the car, with its spots of grey primer, is a far cry from the other ‘Vettes on this list but right up our street nonetheless.

It’s very much a case of function over form and while the car may look a little tired it certainly has the goods when it comes to ripping up the Hollywood hills amidst a cacophony of V8 roar. Unfortunately the car ends up at the bottom of said hills in a ball of flames, but it was certainly great while it lasted. R.I.P.