Car of the Week: 1954 Corvette GM Motorama ‘Proposal Car’

Story and photos by Shawn Miller

This one-of-a-kind “proposal car” is an integral part of the Corvette story, with a fascinating history that dates to early 1953—well before the first production models rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Mich.

Prior to series Corvette production, which commenced on June 30, 1953, Chevrolet built approximately 15 hand-laid fiberglass Corvette bodies intended for experimental or Motorama use. These hand-built show cars were not assigned standard VINs, but were instead referred to by internal codes. One such code was EX-52, the first Corvette prototype unveiled to the public at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 1953. Like other General Motors experimental and factory custom cars, all of these show cars additionally received Shop Order (S.O.) numbers. Among the known S.O. numbers are those for some of the 1954 GM Motorama show cars based on 1954 Corvettes: the Corvair (S.O. 2071), Nomad (S.O. 1954) and hardtop (S.O. 2000). As documented in internal GM memos, many of these show cars were destroyed or reused for other projects and then destroyed. As a result, precious few of these Motorama-era prototypes survive today.

The history of this unique Corvette originates with S.O. 2000, the pale-yellow Corvette hardtop prototype that debuted at the 1954 GM Motorama. According to accounts, at least two of these show cars were built and it is believed that one was retired in January 1954 so its body could be reassigned to a new project—S.O. 2151 (GM is known to have assigned a new S.O. number to a vehicle when it returned to the GM Styling shop).

This Corvette was returned to GM’s famous Art and Colour department overseen by legendary designer Harley Earl. In its new role, S.O. 2151 served as the department’s prototype 1955 Corvette proposal for GM management to review as it determined the look of next year’s Corvette.

During this process, the Corvette body was restyled to incorporate several notable proposed features: a decorative hood scoop, egg-crate front grille, bumper-exit exhaust tips and a distinctive trunk design much like the trunk seen on S.O. 2071, the fastback Corvair show car. Another prominent element of the new design was the slanted front-fender vents that were painted body color on the passenger side and trimmed with chrome on the driver side, thus giving GM executives two different looks from which to choose.

Similarly, the Corvette script was placed high on one side and low on the other. It also incorporated a large gold “V” to signify that the 1955 Corvette would be available with a V-8 engine. Once these changes were implemented, the body was repainted Bermuda Green, a beautiful jade-like metallic green used on production GM vehicles of the period, as well as another famous show car, the 1955 Corvette Biscayne (XP-037/S.O. 2249).

Photographed in GM’s design studio in March 1954, S.O. 2151 was mounted on a new 1954 Corvette chassis, powered by an experimental engine equipped with a high-performance solid-lifter camshaft. The 1955 proposal car was officially completed on July 30, 1954, as evidenced by the S.O. tag riveted inside the engine bay.

In the end, the 1955 proposal car’s unique features never made it to production. Facing stagnant sales and new competition from the recently announced Ford Thunderbird, GM executives decided to completely re-imagine the Corvette for 1956. Meanwhile, the 1955 Corvette was virtually identical to the 1954 model, albeit with a new, optional V-8 engine. That year, Ford dominated the market, its new Thunderbird outselling the Corvette 30 to 1.

As for S.O. 2151, it escaped the fate of most GM prototypes. Instead of being destroyed or rebuilt into a new show car, this one-off somehow slipped through the cracks and eventually made its way to California.

While little is known of its earliest whereabouts, by 1963, the Corvette had been sold to Auto Center, a car dealership located in downtown San Jose, Calif. In 1974, Richard Oldham, a Corvette collector and owner of Empire Chevrolet in Novato, Calif., acquired the car in “basket case” condition. Although most of the paint had been stripped from its bodywork, and many of its unique prototype features were missing, the Corvette still retained its signature fender vents, drivetrain and riveted S.O. 2151 tag.

The following year, Oldham advertised the Corvette for sale with an asking price of $3,000. This immediately attracted the interest of George F. Campbell, who purchased it based on the advice of his friend, noted Corvette historian Noland Adams. Over the next four decades, Mr. Campbell collected parts and researched the car’s history in anticipation of a future restoration.

Following Mr. Campbell’s passing, the Corvette was acquired by the current owner, an Indiana-based enthusiast with more than 45 years of experience in the restoration business. Although he has restored 15 cars for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and many significant and one-off muscle cars, the owner reports that this restoration was his greatest challenge, and he regards it as his “magnum opus.”

Throughout the restoration process, which consumed three years and more than 1,800 hours, the owner painstakingly researched the car’s history and studied period photographs to ensure that the restoration was as accurate as possible, including expertly re-creating any of the missing trim pieces. During the disassembly phase, evidence of the car’s S.O. 2000 origins were uncovered with sections of original pale-yellow and Bermuda Green paint found in several locations. The bodywork also possesses the telltale characteristics unique to the earliest Corvette prototypes—crude, hand-laid fiberglass construction; a one-piece body structure; and custom-fabricated brass trunk hinges. The chassis was also found to be remarkably original and intact, complete with its original shock absorbers, brake shoes, and experimental engine block, all numbered with appropriate early-1954 date codes.

Every effort was made to return the car to its authentic 1954 appearance with remnants of the original pale-yellow and Bermuda Green paint intentionally preserved in hidden areas, such as the trunk and behind the seats, to provide clear evidence of the car’s earliest days as a GM factory prototype. The body, including the doors, are original to S.O. 2151, also the brake shoes, shocks, frame and drivetrain sitting on original 1954 tires were all installed by the manufacturer in 1954. The car’s drivetrain remains original and numbers-matching.

Since its restoration was completed, S.O. 2151 has been shown just once, at The Amelia Concours d’Elegance, in March 2023. There, it was selected by Bill Warner to receive the prestigious The Founders Award.

Chevrolet’s earliest advertisements for the Corvette featured the tag line, “The first of the dream cars to come true.” That statement is most certainly appropriate for S.O. 2151, one of the few Motorama-era prototypes that escaped destruction to survive today. A fascinating and utterly unique piece of GM history, this magnificently restored Corvette design study proposal represents an exciting opportunity for any collector who appreciates this golden age of the American automotive industry.

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