The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray debuts at NAIAS along with vintage support

While the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray made its formal debut last night at a private event in Detroit, today’s start of the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit marked the public debut of the C7 Corvette – with a cast of characters that included one example of every generation Corvette that drew massive crowds all day long.

While it seemed like pretty much everyone in the automotive world attended the 1-13-13 debut of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit, the opening day of the 2013 Detroit Auto Show offered many a first chance to meet the gorgeous new C7 Corvette. Unfortunately, the auto show debut of the new Corvette didn’t bring about any more details on the new GM supercar, the General brought out one example from each generation of the fabled American sports car to help highlight the changes made over the past 60 years of dominating the road and track.

First off, the opening day of the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit’s Cobo Hall brought the attending media from around the world the same two 2014 Corvette Stingray coupes that debuted on Sunday night. This included one in bright red that adorned the center stage of the Chevrolet display (both last night and today) while a dark metallic grey C7 Stingray was located further out in the Chevy display, clear from the fray created by the bright red Corvette on the main stage. Surrounding the red C7 Corvette Stingray and contributing to the absolutely massive crowd that was packed into the Chevy area all day long were six white Corvettes from the past – one from each of the previous six generations. This offered show goers a chance to not just check out the incredible new C7 Stingray alongside the cars that led up to the newest version while also offering a rare chance to see all of the generations of the Corvette side by side. Finally, the Corvette Stingray Coupes debut at the Detroit Auto Show was joined by a huge Chevrolet bowtie logo surrounding the new Stingray text emblem while another new C7 (or more likely a lightweight shell) was pinned on the wall high above the show floor.

The Chevrolet Corvette has come a long way over the past 60 years and thanks to a combination of the bold new exterior design, the efficient new drivetrain and the high luxury interior – it could be argued that the most substantial changes have occurred in the last 24 hours. While the Corvette changed quite a bit from generation to generation, there were always styling cues that carried over including the dual round taillights and a curvy rear end but with the C7 Stingray Coupe’s hard angles around the rear end and the sexy square taillights – the 2014 Corvette stands out in the history of the model more than any other single car. Add to the vastly different exterior styling and luxurious interior setting the fact that the C7 is the most powerful “base” Corvette while also likely being the most efficient and you have grounds for the 2014 Corvette to be consider special enough to proudly sport the Stingray name.

We have put together a short gallery showing the first six generations of the Chevrolet Corvette from the last 60 years along with the shiny new 2014 Corvette Stingray C7 and you can check out all of these by clicking any of the thumbnails above on the right. In case you missed it last night, click here for detailed information on the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (including more live images of the C7 Stingray) and stay tuned to TorqueNews.com for more official C7 Stingray information as it becomes available.