The major players of the 1963 Corvette two body-design development were Bill Mitchel, Vice President of Design; Ed Cole, Zora Arkus Duntov; Larry Shinoda. Together the team created the new fast back sport coupe with a tapered roof line that blended into the rear deck in one continuous sweep. The wrap over doors extended up into the roof panel design to add entrance height and dual rear windows curves over the rear quarters for a wider vision.
The newly designed instrument panel was highly organized featuring controls for headlamps, windshield wipers, and ignition switch. The interior now featured styled leather grained vinyl seats that were available in black, red, navy, or with a saddle interior as a regular production option. A wide variety of Corvette engines were also offered with a horsepower ranging from 250-360 fuel injection engines.
Although the 1963 Corvettes were popular among racing fans and racing events, the vehicle won its popularity among the average consumer. Corvette was established as the new standard for tunnel calibration wind tunnel analysis mostly due to its newly designed aerodynamic features which became increasing important with a specialized vehicle for the sports car classification during its wind tunnel testing.
Even though the newly designed 1963 Corvette models generated popularity, it also created a huge stir in the automotive world. The new model now weighed 2,860 pounds and was priced at $4,252. The Corvette convertible was Chevrolet’s most expensive vehicle with its factory built removable top costing $4,277. The 1963 Corvette were produced in St. Louis Missouri with 10,594 coupes produced and 10,919 convertibles. This year marked the first year for GM to gain profit on the Corvette models.
The Corvette body frame remained untouched from 1963-1967 and to date automotive enthusiast from all over the world still consider the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray models as one of the most popular sports car of all times.
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A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating the story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Photographs courtesy of Robert Tate’s personal collection (Burton, Jerry Corvette America's Sports Car Yesterday Today Tomorrow. Universe Publishing 2006. Dammann H. George. Sixty Years of Chevrolet. Crestline Publishing 1972).
Please do not use any photographs without the permission of the Robert Tate or MotorCities National Heritage Area. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org. If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at lambriez@motorcities.org