Stingray Concept

• GM Vice President Bill Mitchell and stylist Larry Shinoda used the Corvette SS as a template to design the Stingray as a concept car. Chevrolet Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov led a team to build the 1,850-pound Corvette SS racecar that developed 307 horsepower to reach a top speed of 183 mph. The plan was to demonstrate the Corvette's racing prowess at a time when GM management was considering whether to discontinue the Corvette due to mediocre sales. However, the Automobile Manufacturers Association banned Detroit automakers from factory-sponsored racing, and Chevy retired the SS. Born from the SS was the 1959 Stingray concept car. It was ultra-light, weighing about 1,000 pounds less than the standard production Chevrolet, at about 2,200 pounds. The Stingray featured a 315-horsepower 283-cubic-inch V-8 equipped with fuel injection.
  
  

New Sting Ray

• The 1959 Stingray became Mitchell's personal car, which he drove on weekends. It was also the Chevrolet division's test car, used as a test-bed for aluminum components, rear suspension parts and a four-speed manual transmission. When it came time to develop the second generation Corvette, Mitchell turned to Shinoda to develop its design. Shinoda employed styling cues from the British-made Jaguar E-Type roadster and Mitchell's Stingray. The C2 Corvette debuted for the 1963 model year as the "Sting Ray" -- the name spelled differently to distinguish it from Mitchell's Stingray. The body did not carry a "Sting Ray" nameplate. The Corvette, for the first time, was available as a coupe, in addition to the convertible option. Its most distinguishing feature was its split rear window, which was a radical design, but also a visual nightmare for the driver. Chevy dropped the split rear window for 1964.
  
  

C2 Specs

• Corvette enthusiasts regard the 1963 to 1967 Corvette as perhaps the most beautiful Corvette body ever produced. It featured a base 360-horsepower 327 V-8 engine that generated 352 foot-pounds of torque. Arkus-Duntov upgraded the rear suspension system by using an independent spring suspension with transverse leaf springs and half shafts with lateral struts. The front suspension, using an anti-roll bar and unequal A-arms carried over from the C1 Corvette. It could reach 60 mph from a dead stop in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 152.3 mph.
  
  

The C3

• The third-generation Corvette arrived for the 1968 model year as the "Stingray." For the first time, Chevrolet fixed the "Stingray" nameplate on the body, which remained until 1976. Most of its chassis and engine parts were inherited from the C2 Corvette, but the cabin and body were all-new, including a Targa Top roof. Shinoda designed the body from his Mako Shark and Mako Shark II concept car designs dating to 1961, which were inspired largely from the lines of the short-finned mako shark fish.