2003 Corvette 50th anniversary edition - celebrating half a century of excitement - Arlington Corvette

Bill and Susan Kolster's 50th Anniversary Edition Corvette

2003 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Corvette, which made its debut at the Motorama exhibit in New York City on January 17, 1953, and which first rolled off the production line in Flint, Michigan on June 30, 1953.

Celebration
To celebrate this historic occasion, Chevrolet participated in a year-long series of events to honor its foremost offspring. It began in May of 2002 when, for the fifth time, Corvette was selected as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500. The pace car sported special Anniversary Red paint with gold race decals. Later that year, Corvette was the honored marque at the prestigious Monterey Historic Automobile Races in California.

The festivities culminated in the Corvette 50th Celebration in Nashville, Tennessee on June 27-28, 2003. Corvette clubs organized caravans from across the country timed to arrive in Music City for the big event. Nashville became Corvette world headquarters that week, with anything and everything relating to Corvette being on display. Interstate 65 between Nashville and Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the National Corvette Museum and the Corvette assembly plant, became a non-stop rolling Corvette show as celebration participants headed back and forth for various activities at each location.

Corvette 50th Anniversary Edition
If buyers wanted a memento of Corvette’s 50th anniversary, they could order a special option package for their 2003 Vette. Regular Production Option (RPO) 1SC could be ordered only on the coupe or convertible (not the Z06) and added about $5,000 to the price tag. RPO 1SC included the heads-up display, power telescoping steering column, electrochromatic mirrors, memory package, twilight sentinel, model-specific Anniversary Red paint with special badges, Shale interior with embroidered emblems, champagne-colored wheels and Magnetic Selective Ride Control. The Anniversary Red paint was specially manufactured by DuPont for the occasion and included iridium flakes to enhance its reflectivity.

Magnetic Selective Ride Control was the major engineering advancement for 2003 and was a $1,695 option (RPO F55) on regular 2003 Corvettes. The system used computers to adjust the damping characteristics of the fluid in each shock absorber to govern wheel and body motion based on input from sensors monitoring the car’s speed, steering wheel angle, wheel travel, lateral acceleration, braking force and outside temperature at the rate of 1,000 times per second.

Discovered at the National Corvette Museum
Bill and Susan Kolster of Ashburn, Virginia are the proud owners of the 50th Anniversary Edition coupe shown above and featured in our slideshow. They have owned the car since new, taking delivery of it in March of 2003 at the National Corvette Museum under the museum delivery program (RPO R8C). Bill and Susan are now lifetime museum members. Bill is the president of the Old Dominion Corvette Club (ODCC) and a member of the 50th Anniversary Corvette Registry. ODCC holds its monthly meetings at, and is sponsored by, Sterling Chevrolet in Sterling, Virginia.

Bill, like a lot of us, first took notice of Corvettes when he would walk past a 1956 Corvette on his way home from grammar school. This spark was fanned some years later while he was working at a summer job during college. Bill remembers, “I guess I became fascinated with Corvettes when, in 1967, on the first day home from college, a maroon big block pulled into the parking lot where I was working. The fellow worked for the same company as I and I was able to get several rides in his fully loaded car that summer. It is probably responsible for the reason I am partial to maroon Corvettes.”

Indeed he is. Bill’s first Corvette was a 1993 40th Ruby Red (maroon) Anniversary coupe, which he kept until 2005. He and Susan got their first glimpse of the 50th Anniversary edition at the kickoff for the Corvette anniversary celebration at the National Corvette Museum in the summer of 2002 and it was love at first sight. Maybe it was because the Anniversary Red is almost maroon!

As soon as they returned home, they placed their order for the 50th Anniversary coupe, but were not able to take delivery until the following March. These days, Bill and Susan enjoy driving their 50th and regularly take it to local shows, tours and on club trips.

2003 Corvette Sales
Corvette sales for 2003 were about the same as for 2002 despite an increase of approximately $2,400 in the base price of the coupe and convertible, and $1,000 for the Z06. The price increase was accompanied by more standard equipment as Chevrolet made fog lamps, sport seats, power passenger seat and dual zone heating and air conditioning standard on all 2003 Corvettes.

11,632 50th Anniversary Editions were made, accounting for about 33% of total Corvette production. It’s interesting to note that for the first time in Corvette pace car history, no pace car replica was offered by Chevrolet, although an Indy 500 decal package could be purchased for $495 for the do-it-yourself owner.

Drive it and Enjoy it
With the large number of 50th Anniversary Editions made, it is unlikely that they will become collectible items anytime in the near future, although they still hold a slight price edge over a regular Corvette. In its January 2010 edition, Corvette Magazine estimates that top condition anniversary editions are worth a $2,500 premium over a comparable regular 2003 Corvette.

The lesson to be learned here is the same as that for any C5—they offer great performance and comfort for a moderate amount of money. If you like the 50th Anniversary Edition, buy it to drive and enjoy, not to put away in your garage waiting for its value to skyrocket—it’s probably not going to happen anytime soon. If you take good care of it, chances are it will still be worth a little more than a regular 2003 when you decide it’s time to sell.

Another Birthday Coming Up
While it seems that Corvette’s 50th birthday was only a short time ago, such is not the case—it has been seven years. In just three short years, the Corvette will turn 60! Start making your plans now for the next big celebration.

If the color of the 60th anniversary Corvette is anywhere close to maroon, the Kolsters just may have to buy one.

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