The Corvette is often recognized for smooth curves tapering to a blunt rear end, speed and inherent luxury. To mechanics though, another recognizable feature of GM’s Corvette is the inclusion of a leaf spring mounted on each solid axle. Employing the leaf spring in the Corvette rear suspension allowed for less carriage weight than with coils, and quicker response rate for wheels. In later models, it also became useful as an anti-roll bar. Used in the first generation Corvettes of the late fifties and early sixties, the Hotchkis system allowed for the leaf spring to double as a stable horizontal link and a spring, maximizing load-bearing potential. Suspension precision response is reduced though in this configuration, so it was ultimately replaced after 1963. The six subsequent generations utilized a transverse leaf spring.
The usage of a transverse leaf spring also offered the advantage of adjusting height in the Corvette rear suspension, and gave it a more comfortable arrangement in packaging accessibility. Having a better ability to survive wear is another feature of the leaf spring, making the mechanics of GM’s Corvette characteristic in addition to external aesthetic. Because the leaf spring was used as far back as the medieval times the technology is well accepted and tested, but because of GM’s characteristic usage of the leaf spring in all generations of the Corvette, notice was paid by other automobile companies who currently utilize it in their production models.
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