The arrival of the Sting Ray revolutionized the North American sports car market. Its overwhelming success led to a second shift at the St. Louis factory, yet demand still outpaced production.
Designed by General Motors’ Art and Colour Studio under Bill Mitchell, the new Corvette showcased radical styling inspired by Mitchell’s Stingray sports-racer. Notably, it introduced a Gran Turismo coupé to the lineup.
Underneath, an all-new ladder-frame chassis with independent rear suspension enhanced both handling and ride quality. The standard engine was a 327ci (5.4-litre) overhead-valve V8, producing 250bhp.
Development mirrored the previous generation (1956-1962) with annual facelifts and minimal engineering changes. This era, now seen as a ‘Golden Age’ for the Corvette, spanned from 1963 to 1967, and the Sting Ray has become a highly collectible classic.
The first ‘Split Window‘ model, produced for only one year, is now one of the most coveted Corvette variants. In 1963, over 21,000 Sting Rays were made, with production evenly split between coupés and convertibles.
Photos by P.L. Carrillo Photography courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
