The iconic Corvette 'Sting Ray' with its unique styling is without a doubt one of the most distinctive lined classics in the history of the car design universe.
The Sting Ray, a stingray ray,
British sports cars were immensely popular in the States. And the Americans thought that they could also find a business model in it. British sports cars were designed to dance along the most beautiful, winding roads. For the Americans, the flying start after a traffic light had turned green was pretty important. In the eyes of European sports car enthusiasts, the Corvettes were streamlined trucks. Designed by the head of the General Motors design department, Bill Mitchell and the head of the styling department, Larry Shinoda, the Corvette 'Sting Ray' immediately got the hands of the audience together when presented in 1963. Together with the Ford Shelby Mustang, this improved successor to the now somewhat dated Corvettes from 'The Fifties' marked a new milestone for the American car industry.
The Sting Ray was an instant sales stunner
Finally there was a sports car built in the USA that could compete against its European competitors. At least: If the road wasn't too winding. At the end of the 1963 model year, GM's Chevrolet division had sold 10.594 Sting Ray coupes and also 10, .919 Sting Ray cabriolet roadsters.
Under the polyester
Among his revolutionary plastic body, there was a choice of an impressive range of V8 engine options. The most impressive of these was the tuning guru Zora Arkus Duntov, who prepared L88 427 series "big block", which supplied 467 hp and provided a top speed of 270 km / h.
He steered badly
The only stain on the Corvette's design was the extremely blunt steering behavior in fast turns. European sports car drivers were horrified by that. There he asked for a brave driver with a big heart. And something that is now so beautiful, that was the shared rear window in the 1963'er models. That shared rear window was a weakness, by the way.
In the following model, people at GM had learned how to make the window out of one piece. This 'split window' turned the rear view into pure guesswork for the driver. Our advice: buy an 1965. He misses that bar. But is much cheaper.
A luxurious interior
But the driver was completely happy with his fantastic interior. It contained a whole set of round clocks that gave the real racing car feeling. For all Americans and for many Europeans, the Corvette Sting Ray was the most distinctive, irresistible car of all time from The States. And who are we to disagree with that?
We found our fashion model at Venema Classic Cars in Drempt. The car has an 5.4 liter V8 and delivers 364 horsepower at a weight of 1420 kilo. The largest, most brutal British Beast, a three-liter Healey, delivered 150 hp at a weight of 1180 kg.
