The year 1963 was a big one for General Motors, the C2 was introduced that year. The lineage of the car could be traced to two separate projects, the Q-Corvette a design started in 1957 that got no further then a clay mock-up, and the Corvette Sting Ray (concept car) designed by Pete Brock, Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda, that took its cues from the short-lived Corvette SS racing project.
In 1959, elements from both the Q-Corvette and the Sting Ray racecar were incorporated into the project named the XP-720 at the GM styling studios. The idea was to build a production Corvette based on Mitchell’s racecar. An early clay model was pretty much the Sting Ray concept car turned into a coupe, in 1960 a second full-size clay model done by Shinoda was approved by the GM management. This would be the 1963 C2 Split Window Corvette Sting Ray.
The designers felt 10 years was long enough, even for a much improved design, so 1963 brought the big change from the original Harley Earl Corvette. The C2 was the first production Corvette coupe, and it sported an unusual design element for the period, a split rear window.Hidden headlights were also a new design feature, mounted on rotating sections that when closed fit perfectly with the sharp-edged nose of the Vette. these would continue as part of the Corvette style until the C6 model. Doors with deep cuts into the roof allowed easier entry into the low-roof sports car.
Inside, the dash had a new take on a motif that had been around since 1958, but with more room in the glove box, a better heating system and large round tachometer and speedometer facing the driver, with a clock and vertically mounted radio taking their place in the center console. There was some room for luggage, but as there was no trunk lid it had to be put behind the seats. The round deck emblem doubled as fuel filler flap.
Underneath, a new chassis had also been added. Better handling came from a shorter wheelbase that altered the weight distribution to give the front wheels less weight for lighter steering and the rear wheels more weight for better traction. The standard cast iron drum brakes were now wider for an increase in braking area, finned aluminum drums were an option allowing better heat dissipation and a savings in unsprung weight.
The independent rear suspension was the work of another Corvette legend, Zora Arkus-Duntov, a design he took from the CERV1 concept car. It used a frame-mounted differential with U-jointed halfshafts linked together by a transverse leaf spring. Rubber-cushioned struts carried the differential, reducing harshness in the ride while improving grip, and standard shock absorbers were used, all bringing a significant reduction in unsprung weight. The C2’s front suspension would carry over from earlier models, steering was recirculating ball, but it was geared at a higher 19.6:1 ratio. Previous being 20.0:1
Drivetrains were the same as previous models, with four small-block 327 V8 choices offered, along with a choice of three transmissions and six axle ratios. Carbureted engines came in three flavors 250-, 300- and 340-hp, but topping these was the 360-hp Rochester fuel-injected V8, a $430.40 extra.
The standard gearbox for the Corvette remained a three-speed manual, but the preference for buyers was the Borg-Warner four speed. This came with wide-ratio gears on the base engines and close ratio gears on the top two. The new Sting Ray was not only a major design change, it was lighter than the earlier Corvettes so acceleration was improved even though the engines had remained the same.
The new look for 1963 was a big success, GM sold 21,513 C2s, twice as many Corvettes as they’d sold of the very popular 1962 model year. Sales of the new coupe almost equaled the convertible, but would never reach such levels again throughout the Sting Ray years.
Sitting in this silver ’63 Corvette on a warm fall day is like being in a time machine. Not just because it’s a beautiful example of the marque, but because it reminds me of the first time I ever saw one. It was at Lime Rock, Connecticut in 1963 when my family was visiting Coby Whitmore and his family. Coby, along with his good friend John Fitch, had designed the Fitch/Whitmore Jaguar and the Fitch Phoenix. There had always been cool cars running through the household, John and Coby had a single-seat racecar they used to run in Coby’s back yard when it wasn’t down at the track.
We pulled up in front of the Whitmore’s home and their son Tod was in the driveway with this amazing machine.
It was silver, too, and it looked like a space ship to my young eyes. Having neither the height to see over the steering wheel nor the required license to drive it, I could just look and dream about what it must be like to be behind the wheel. Fast forward a few decades and that dream is coming true. Closing the door with the car’s deep cut into the roof makes you feel like you are truly in a cockpit. The narrow-rimmed steering wheel with its crossed flags on the horn doesn’t feel like it will be up to the job of controlling this beast, but it does the job admirably. Looking at the mirror image dash, everything you need to know is right there in front of you in large, round, easy-to-read dials. Speedo to your left and a 6500-rpm redline tach to your right, with the fuel, battery, oil and temperature gauges all visible at a glance.
Turn the key and the Stromberg fuel injection does its job and the engine fires up and settles into a low rumble. Get hold of the shift lever, push it into first and take off. This is a very elemental sports car. No AC, no power steering or power brakes , just the feel of barely controlled power. You leap forward with great ease, slowing down not too bad, but you are not going to be doing any heroics in the corners, after all this is 50-year-old technology, but this car was the genesis of all Corvettes to follow. You can still see design elements that came from the C2 in the C7 today. The split window was a one year design, as Zora Arkus-Duntov didn’t like the look and there were concerns about rearward visibility. All this considered, the 1963 C2 is a milestone in Corvette history.
This is a bucket-list car for all gearheads to experience at least once in their life time. It was a long time from first seeing one of these machines to driving one, and I can tell you it was well worth the wait.
Thanks to Wayne Carini and Mike Roberts of F40 Motor Sports for letting me loose with this memorable machine. — by Sean Smith
Driven Classics at a Glance:
SPECIFICATIONS
1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe
Production: 1963
Body: Fiberglass
Wheelbase: 92inches/2,337mm
Length: 175.3-inches
Width: 69.6-inches
Front Track: 56.3-inches
Rear Track: 57-inches
Weight: 3,042 pounds
Suspension: (F) Independent; upper and lower A-arms, coil springs, antiroll bar, tubular shock absorbers (R) Fixed differential, U-jointed half shafts, lateral struts, radius rods, transverse leaf spring, tubular shock absorbers
Engine: 326.7-cu.in V8
Displacement: 5354-cc
Bore x Stroke : 101.6 x 82.5-mm
Comp. Ratio: 11:1
Induction: Rochester Fuel Injection
Power: 360 bhp @ 6,200 rpm
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Brakes: 11” front rear drums
PERFORMANCE
Top Speed: 142 mph
0-60 mph: 5.6 secs
Average fuel consumption: 13.1 mpg
VALUATION
Price at Launch: US$4,037
Excellent: US$102,000
Good: US$131,000
Average: US$81,000
Poor: US$52,000
