Corvette collectors can recite chapter and verse why their favorite ride is also this country’s coolest car. Powerful and sleek, a romantic symbol of success and possibility, the Corvette embodies the American dream for many automobile enthusiasts.
A loving tribute to that vehicle and the lofty dreams that it inspires can be found at The National Corvette Museum, located less than a mile away from the car’s assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The cars have been built and designed in this city since 1981, when the plant was moved from nearby Louisville. So, it came as no surprise when The National Corvette Restores Society — a nonprofit organization of Corvette lovers solidifying the car’s place in automotive history — chose to build the museum here in 1994. Today, their 68,000-square-foot edifice is easily spotted from Interstate 65 thanks to a yellow, 11-story “Skydome,” designed to imitate the car’s unique styling, and a red, 12-story spire that juts into the sky.
Every aspect of Corvette culture is proudly displayed inside the museum, from more than 50 Corvette models, one-of-a-kind concept cars and prototypes of unique designs, to thousands of related photos, advertisements and rare memorabilia. Visits start in Nostalgia Alley, which recalls the cars’ rise to fame in the 1950s, and ’60s. (The museum’s powder-blue, 1953 original model is a striking reminder of that period.)
For Corvette fanatics who’ve always wondered how their favorite model would perform in a high-octane race, the museum puts them in the middle of the action. A new interactive exhibit, “Pit Crew Challenge,” lets guests to step into a simulated pit crew to change tires and put out fires so they can get their team’s Corvette back on the racetrack and into the winner’s circle.