The Second Generation - C2 (1963 to 1967)
| The Chevrolet Corvette C2 is the second generation of the sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced for the 1963 through 1967 model years. Virtually all-new, the Sting Ray stunned the automotive world and many regard the C2 as the high point of Corvette history. Bill Mitchell revisited the Super Sport racer and would subsequently reinvent the Corvette with radical new styling, heart-pounding performance, and a first-ever coupe. |  |
In 2004, Sports Car International named the Sting Ray number five on the list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s.
Grand Sport (1962) - the Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov initiated a program to produce a lightweight version based on a prototype that mirrored the new 1963 Corvette. Concerned about Ford and what they were doing with the Shelby Cobra, Duntov`s program included plans to build 125 Grand Sport Corvettes to make them eligible for international Grand Touring races. After the GM executives learned of the secret project, the program was stopped, and only five cars were built. All five cars have survived and are in private collections. They are among the most coveted and valuable Corvettes ever built, not because of what they accomplished, but because of what might have been.
The cars were driven by famed contemporary race drivers such as Roger Penske, A.J. Foyt, Jim Hall, and Dick Guldstrand among others. The Grand Sports, however, were never fully developed; poor aerodynamics caused high speed handling problems that were alleviated by a number of modifications but never completely solved. Dick Thompson was the first driver to win a race in the Grand Sport 004. He won a 1963 Sports Car Club of America race at Watkins Glen on August 24, 1963.
The Corvette Grand Sports were raced with several different engines, but the most serious factory engine actually used was a 377 cubic inch displacement, all-aluminum, small block with four Weber side-draft carburetors, rated 550 hp (410 kW) at 6400 rpm. Body panels were made of thinner fiberglass to reduce weight and the frame was constructed of amazingly light steel tubes.
Rondine (1963) - based on the 1963 Corvette C2 chassis, the Corvette `Rondine` (Ron-di-nay) concept car was built for the 1963 Paris Auto Show, designed by Tom Tjaarda of Pininfarina.
For more information on specific years of production click on the links either in the side menu or below:
