The quintessential Corvette is the 1963 Sting Ray, is it not? This celebrated C2 had skinny tires, drum brakes, and horsepower that pales in comparison to what would come several years later, so why is the first C2 the one that people love the most?
The rear window, naturally. Sure, Zora Arkus-Duntov and thousands of drivers did not like the view obstructed by the piece of fiberglass that bisected the backlite, but it gave the car character — witness early Volkswagen Beetles if you don’t believe me. Dare we proclaim it the best Chevy ever?
Image courtesy of Muscle Car Campy
Despite the slights mentioned above, there was nothing wrong with Chevrolet’s redesigned Corvette for 1963. In fact, everything was right: styling that was among the best the automotive world could offer in the decade, an independent rear suspension gave the Corvette the gravitas to be taken more seriously in the arena (if not the racetrack), and a fuel-injected 327 that out-muscled those Euro snobs.
Image courtesy of Muscle Car Campy
The debut of a fixed-roof coupe also was significant, and its style was so strong that it was quite tempting to forego open-air driving — the convertible led by a marginal 325 units out of 21,513 built for both body styles. That also was a significant increase from the 14,531 built for 1962.
Join Muscle Car Campy as he goes gaga over this fuel-injected 1963 Corvette coupe. As part of Ryan Snyder’s collection, this Corvette is almost tame compared to the Camaros filmed in an earlier segment, but it’s hard to beat from a style/power quotient.
If you dig this video, there’s plenty of others hosted by Muscle Car Campy that you can view by clicking here.
