When the rumor became official, that the eighth generation of America’s sports car would become a mid-engined, rear-drive machine that looked an awful lot like a pasta rocket, the detractors were quick to say that it would be the least Corvette-like version on the market. The engine was in the wrong place. The driving dynamics weren’t as they had been for years. The changeover would force GM to cede the one ace in the hole for the Corvette badge, being the low-cost option that would break out, bust out and beat up on cars many times it’s price. The C8 Corvette wouldn’t be a true Corvette in the sense. It was just too far gone. Internet armchair quarterbacks and “experts” agreed.

Oh, really?

In case you needed a refresher, here’s what Genesis looked like. Other than the fiberglass body (hand-formed, by the way, as the whole car was), the two doors and the front-engine, rear-drive layout, this is probably as far away from a Corvette as you can get. The original 1953 model, of which only 300 were made, had it’s heart in the right place but if you go based on the popular conceptions, this isn’t a Corvette either. There’s no V8, and there wouldn’t be until 1955. There’s no independent rear suspension, that wouldn’t show up until 1963. There’s no manual transmission option, that first appeared in 1955, the second-rarest production year, and maybe 75 cars got the new three-speed manual. The Corvette didn’t start racing in earnest until later. Who, exactly was this car targeted at? Sports cars. Not Italian V-12s or the like, but people who were looking at MGs and Jaguars. The V8 burble and the muscular attitude really didn’t show up until 1957 and didn’t flourish until the second generation. The early cars, and especially the 1953-55 bodystyle are all their own, and the 1953 is the unicorn.