Mike,
You should have said, "UNDERpowered the original 1953 - 1954 Corvette." That six was hardly "sporty". The poor power and poor reviews of the car almost got the project killed at GM. If they hadn't gone to the 265 V8 in '55, the 'Vette might never have been a success.
The engine didn't have the low end torque or high end revs of the Mercedes 6. I wonder how the new little blue stovebolt is? You'd think that if they were going to go to all the trouble to make a repro, they'd have given it more guts in the power department.