Gibson first manufactured prototypes of the guitar in 1957.  This Flying V, along with the Futura (Explorer) and, initially, the Moderne, made up a line of modernist guitars. These designs were meant to add a more futuristic aspect to Gibson's image, but they didn't sell well. After the initial launch in 1958, the line was discontinued by 1959. 

 In the mid-1960s, guitarists such as Albert King, Dave Davies, and Jimi Hendrix, in search of a distinctive looking guitar with a powerful sound, started using Flying V's. The renewed interest created a demand for Gibson to reissue the model.  Gibson reissued the guitar in 1967, updating its design with a bigger, more stylish pickguard, and ditching the original bridge, which had the strings inserted through the back, in favor of the stopbar tail piece more commonly associated with Gibson models. This 1967 model is now the standard for the Flying V or, as Gibson now calls it, "V Factor".