The Sting Ray is so revered that General

Motors unveiled a new concept

to honor it.

After a five-decade Corvette

love affair, the coveted

F
second-generation
Sting Rays still set
the benchmark
for all others
By MALCOLM GUNN
WHEELBASE MEDIA
W W W. W H E E L B A S E . W S / M E D I A

ew people would disagree that the

1963-’67 Corvette Sting Rays are
among the most beautiful machines
on four wheels.
How that happened — and how
they remain a cultural icon to this day — is a story
unto itself.
The original Corvettes from the mid-1950s
through the early 1960s had become increasingly
more powerful and better-handling roadsters,
thanks largely to the efforts of chief engineer Zora
Arkus-Duntov. However, by 1962, the ’Vette’s dated
X-frame-based underpinnings were becoming less
capable of handling the up to 360 horsepower that
was being stuffed under its aging bonnet.
The arrival of the Corvette Sting Ray for 1963 in-
stantly cured that problem.
Penned by Chevrolet styling guru Bill Mitchell,
who also created the original Buick Riviera, the
1963 Sting Ray made instant antiques out of the

GM’s first compact

previous 1953-’62 Corvettes. The car’s knockout
good looks featured bulging fenders, split “nerf ”-
style chrome front and back bumpers and pop-up

was its most

headlights.
The roadster was joined by a fastback-styled

controversial
coupe with a distinctive spilt-rear-window design.
The top of the doors on this version were cut well
into the roof, making entry and exit simple.
Underneath the new bodywork was a ladder-
type frame and independent rear suspension, the
first time such a setup had ever been offered on an
American-based production car.
The ’Vette’s available V8 engines were posi-
tioned well back of the front wheels, creating near-
ly equal fore-and-aft weight distribution. Combined
with beefier brakes and leading-edge chassis and
suspension, the new fiberglass Chevy was able to
run circles around previous models.

F I N E L I N E S
1 9 6 3 - 1 9 6 7 C H E V R O L E T C O RV E T T E
For the first two years of production (1963-’64), the only
available engine was a 327 cubic-inch V8 in four output rat-
ings; 250; 300; 340 and 360 horsepower (the latter being the
rare fuel-injected version).
For 1964, the hardtop’s split rear window was replaced
by a one-piece design that improved visibility. Designer
Mitchell fought a losing battle to keep his original two-win-
dow design, claiming that changing it “spoiled the whole
car.”
In 1965, the horsepower wars escalated with the arrival of
the new 396 cubic-inch V8 that featured Chevy’s “porcupine”
cylinder head design (so-called since the motor’s valves and
pushrods stuck out at odd angles) lifted from the 427-cube
race engine. For those Corvette buyers wanting to advertise
ownership of the big block, the car could be ordered with op-
tional side pipes that dumped the exhaust just ahead of the
rear wheels.
Available for only one model year, the 396 V8 came in three
power levels with the hottest pumping out an impressive 425
horses.
The fastest, toughest, meanest Corvette Sting Ray on the
block arrived in 1966. The optional ($437.10) 427-cubic-inch
powerplant was available in 390- and 425-horsepower versions.
That latter’s three two-barrel-carb setup turned the $6,000
Corvette into a heart-stop-
ping monster that could reel
off zero-to-60-mph runs in less
than 5.5 seconds. But the 427
saga didn’t end there. If you
special run of 20 L88-designated Sting Ray coupes was constructed were brave enough, you could
for 1967. These factory specials featured race-prepped engines that order your ’67 with the L71 en-
produced a mind-boggling 560 horsepower. gine option, which got you a
By the time the last of the second-generation Corvette Sting 435-horsepower (its true rating
Rays departed the factory floor in 1967, nearly 118,000 copies had was apparently well over 450)
been produced. Of those, nearly two-thirds were convertibles. variant of the 427 that came
But, as pretty and as fast as the Corvette was, even Duntov him-
Zora-Arkus Duntov spear-
with single four barrel carbu-
self later conceded the early Sting Rays were the least satisfying of
headed the engineering of
retor and plenty of exotic-for-
all Corvettes.
the Sting Ray’s platform.
the-day hardware.
Never mind. This is still the car people of all ages drool over and For drag-racing purposes, a
would own in an instant if only its rapidly escalating value didn’t
put it out of reach of mere mortals.
An all-new Stingray (note the joining of the words) was sup-
posed to have arrived for 1967, but development problems delayed
its launch until the following year. It, too, had its distinctive fea-
tures and plenty of available cubes to boss its way around the
streets. But for die-hard ’Vette-heads, it was missing the soul of the
previous Sting Ray. While the muscle might have been there, some
of the magic was gone. Some say gone for good.
Malcolm Gunn is a feature writer with Wheelbase Media. He can be
reached on the Web at www.wheelbase.ws/media by clicking the contact
link. Wheelbase supplies automotive news and features to newspapers
General Motors designer Bill Mitchell with the Mako Shark,
across North America.
right, and the 1959 Sting Ray concept car.

Although it looked the part,

the 1963 Sting Ray wasn’t quite
the brute machine that Chevrolet
envisioned. By 1967, shown here, real brakes,
better seats and big engines were in the cards.