Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray - 1963-67

The iconic Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, with its unique styling, is without a doubt one of the most iconic classics in the history of the automotive design universe.

The Sting Ray, a stingray ray,

British sports cars were immensely popular in the United States. And the Americans thought that they could also find a business model in it. British sports cars were designed to dance on the most beautiful, winding roads. For the Americans, the flying start after a traffic light had turned green was very important.

In the eyes of European sports car enthusiasts, the Chevrolet Corvettes were streamlined trucks. Designed by General Motors design chief Bill Mitchell and styling chief Larry Shinoda, the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray immediately caught the attention of the public when it was presented in 1963. Together with the Ford Shelby Mustang, this improved successor to the now somewhat outdated Chevrolet Corvettes from 'The Fifties' set a new milestone for the American car industry.

The Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray was an instant sales stunner

Finally, there was a US-built sports car that could compete with its European competitors. At least: If the road wasn't too winding. By the end of the 1963 model year, GM's Chevrolet division had sold 10.594 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray coupes and an additional 10.919 Sting Ray convertible roadsters.

Under the polyester

Under its revolutionary plastic body, there was an impressive array of V8 engine options to choose from. The most impressive of these was the L88 427 series 'big block' prepared by tuning guru Zora Arkus Duntov, which produced 467 horsepower and a top speed of 270 km/h.

He steered badly

The only blemish on the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray's design was its extremely blunt handling in fast corners. This horrified European sports car drivers. There he asked for a brave driver with a big heart. And something that is now considered so beautiful, that was the split rear window in the 1963 models. That split rear window was a sign of weakness, by the way.

On the next model, the people at GM had learned how to make the window in one piece. This 'split window' turned the rear view into pure guesswork for the driver. Our advice: buy a 1965 car. He's missing that spike. But is much cheaper.

A luxurious interior

But that driver had a great time again in his fantastic interior. In it was a whole set of round clocks that gave the real race car feeling. For all Americans and for many Europeans, the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray was the most iconic, irresistible car of all time from the United States. And who are we to disagree with that?

We found our fashion model a while ago at Venema Classic Cars in Drempt. The car has a 5,4 liter V8 and produces 364 hp on a weight of 1420 kilograms. The largest, most brutal British Beast, a three liter Austin-Healey delivered 150 horsepower at a weight of 1180 kg.

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- Chevrolet Camaro. The Mustang eater