Corvette History Part 3: The Sting Ray (C2 Corvette)

Following a shift in motoring philosophy, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s team creates one of the fastest, most beautiful American cars of the 1960s.

Welcome to Part 3 of our ongoing Corvette History series!
Here are the previous entries:

Part 1: Origins
Part 2: Small-block Chevy & Solid Axles

American motorsport reached its adolescence in the 50s and early 60s, blessed with lessons learned from overseas racers. The Corvette, as previously discussed, spearheaded this new approach to auto racing. With a light, stiff chassis and a powerful, reliable V8 engine, it preceded a new era for racing as well as the automotive trends of the 60s in general. But as anyone with a love of motorsport can attest, it’s an infectious, all-consuming passion. And from the very beginning, one of the Corvette’s designers, Zora Arkus-Duntov, pushed this angle more than any other. So much so that by 1963, the Corvette’s image became synonymous with world-class track performance.

Like many of us, Zora himself developed a keen interest in going fast from a young age. He flew in the French Air Force during World War II before their surrender and fled to New York, where he established the Ardun company. During his tenure, he built specialized racing components for Ford V8s and became heavily involved in auto racing. By 1952, he split his time between engineering and racing, entering that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with co-driver Frank Curtis. By the 1954 season, Porsche employed Zora behind the wheel of their 550/4 RS Spyder. With co-driver Gustave Olivier, he took a class-win that year, and again in 1955 with August “Toto” Veuillet. 1955 proved a profoundly impactful season for motorsport around the world, however.

Rebuilding from Tragedy

Zora went to England to co-develop the Allard he raced in Le Mans ’52 and ’53.

84 people lost their lives in Pierre Levegh’s pivotal crash, the deadliest racing accident in history. This horrifying event forced auto-makers to re-evaluate their views on factory-backed motorsport teams. In the US, this led to Ford, Chrysler, and GM completely discontinuing factory-backing any team. But rather than putting motorsports on hold entirely, the de-facto result generated something of a “Cold War” between each company. Instead of overtly fielding factory teams, focus shifted instead to quietly backing private ventures with the best equipment. As motorsports continued gaining popularity in the US, this generated a desire for faster, more capable vehicles. As such, GM replied with input from their own veteran racer: Zora Arkus-Duntov.

Convinced that racing represented the key to the Corvette’s success, Zora heavily lobbied GM to develop the sports car into a hot-ticket racer. In 1956, this hard effort manifested in XP-64, better-known as the Corvette SS. Painted a striking blue and white two-tone with a large grinning front end, the car resembled a shark by design. The SS featured a number of highly specialized racing components. Tubular space-frame construction, magnesium body and oil sump, short-long arm front and De Dion Tube rear suspension, drilled drum brakes, and more. The car weighed just 1850 pounds wet and competed in the 1957 Sebring race.

The SS is, essentially, a reverse-engineered Jaguar D-Type with left-hand drive, a V8, and C1-inspired styling.

Representing Chevrolet’s last official race car, the SS served as the final gasp of any motorsport ambitions for GM. At least, that’s what one might hear by 1959. Which happens to be the same year that a very special concept car debuts: the Stingray (one word). Just don’t tell anybody about it.

Codenamed XP-87, the Stingray itself traces its lineage back to the Q-Corvette, appropriately the XP-86. This mockup represents the first design resembling what we know today as the C2, featuring the earliest example of what became the “Folded Crease” design. Bill Mitchell headed this technique, using sharp aerodynamic angles to create the distinctive sleek nose and low profile. Due to the banning of factory-backing motorsport, Mitchell completed the design in secret with GM’s assistance. To facilitate this, he created Studio X, an independent design firm used for GM’s experimental designs. Studio X completed XP-87 in early 1959, having recently moved to a far more spacious location than the literal back-room the team had. And talk about starting off on the right foot.

The Stingray drove to over 180 miles per hour in testing with a fuel-injected 283 producing just over 300 horsepower.

The 1959 Stingray debuted its racing career on April 18, 1959 at Marlboro Raceway, finishing first in-class. Privately funded, of course, the car featured no official badging and was never actually a Corvette. Rather, Mitchell so called the car “Stingray” because he was an avid fisherman and admired the creature and the car’s resemblance to one. This naming trend continued throughout much of the early Corvette history, with another example coming up shortly.

In spite of being privately fielded, GM eventually forced Mitchell to retire the striking racer. The American Motorsport Association ultimately had the final say, and the car never saw a race track again. But that absolutely didn’t fly with Zora or Mitchell, who each saw massive potential in the design. Instead, the Stingray underwent a series of refinements to please shareholders and create a dedicated road car. The car received a hard top, passenger seat, and proper indicators to make it street-legal. Ultimately, XP-87 became one of the world’s objectively coolest personal vehicles, being Mitchell’s weekender until its induction as a historically significant vehicle. But not before its design birthed yet another famous Corvette concept: XP-755.

By this point, the design team at Studio X worked out of Harley Earl’s private file room.

The Mako Shark

Under Bill Mitchell’s guidance, designer Larry Shinoda created a refined design to precede the next-generation Corvette. By this point, GM’s design team were effectively sold on the C2’s design based on the Stingray. All that’s left now was to marry the gorgeous silhouette with a functional road-going practicalities. These included the addition of a permanent hard-top, additional taillights, and constant interior revisions. The XP-755 debuted at the 1962 New York International Auto Show, painted in distinctive blue-white fade. For the first time, the world glimpsed the future of the Corvette, a car known most famously as Mako Shark I.

Originally Zora envisioned the C2 as mid-engined, going so far as to produce a full-size mockup. However, this vehicle, known as CERV I, never left the test-bed phase. Instead, GM selected the Mako Shark’s design.

GM heavily pushed the Mako Shark, featuring it prominently in car shows and media. Its exotic silhouette resonated heavily with the public, and was finalized as the next-generation Corvette after several more revisions. Ultimately, the car wouldn’t wait long before this design saw the light of day as a full-fledged production vehicle. The final design incorporated a new roof line with a trunkless coupe, the first Corvette in that configuration. Of course, you could still opt for the classic roadster if you so desired. However, the coupe became more prized with its distinctive split-window design, a one-year feature. This car, donning the name Sting Ray, first left GM’s factory August 1962.

Debut and Public Reception

The 1963 model year Sting Ray received unanimous positive reception. Featuring anywhere up to a 360-horsepower-rated L84 fuel-injected 327 and refined suspension, the car boasted an excellent power-weight ratio and handling profile. Its refined aerodynamics made it an instant classic for daily drivers up to endurance racers. The chassis featured a complete redesign, with a new frame and suspension profile (pictured below). This greatly aided in overall stability and roadworthiness over the previous C1. Independent rear suspension lifted from Zora’s CERV-I concept marked the most significant of these changes.

The options list expanded significantly over the C1 as well, now featuring various specialized racing equipment going along with the whole “factory-backed but not really” theme. The most coveted of these packages became the famous Z06 Special Performance Package. At just 199 units sold, the C2 Z06 represented the ultimate racing C2 Corvette. This package saw the first ever experimental 427 c.i. engine for the 1963 Daytona 250, with 5 cars finishing 2nd, 3rd, and 12th-14th.

Image from the GM Heritage Center’s 1963 data sheet. The RPO# for the L84 retailed at $430.40, the priciest option excluding the Z06 Special Performance Equipment at $1,818.45.

The C2 improved handily in sales over its predecessor, selling 21,513 units in 1963 alone. The vast majority of these were equipped with 4-speeds and uprated engines, clearly indicating a trend for years to come. Even after the Muscle Era began, the Corvette stood out as a distinctive sports car. Its bold design and 2-seater configuration placed it in a separate category entirely. Effectively, GM’s halo car soared in popularity as an affordable alternative to European exotics, with more power and reliability for half the price.

Finishing Strong

The “affordable speed” mentality served the Corvette well into the 60s, with only incremental changes applied. The window lost the split amid safety concerns. The fake hood vents were removed. Fuel injection was dropped after the 1965 model year, among other small changes. More significantly, the Corvette gained the brand-new 396 and later 427 big-blocks in ‘65 and ‘66, respectively. Byproducts of the Muscle Era, these new engines generated an eye-watering 425 horsepower. That’s twice as much as a Maserati 3500GT’s with a similar curb weight.

The original Mako Shark concept featured a double bubble top (left).

Choosing not to overstay their welcome, the designers pulled the C2 in 1967. The car’s small, sleek curves remain unique among Corvettes and 1960s American sports cars as a whole. Because of this individuality, the car filled a very specific niche in the US market. Likewise, it also excelled on the track, thanks in no small part to its chassis innovations and outstanding powertrain. Various special examples also saw the light of day, becoming treasured memorabilia of Corvette history. These include the previously mentioned Z06, the Grand Sport, and the Rondine concept, among others.

With power figures ranging from 300 to over 500 for motorsport, the car entered and won races across many disciplines throughout the 60s and beyond. Its motorsport heritage lives on today as the car frequently appears worldwide in a variety of classic events. Even by today’s standards, people still consider the Sting Ray a fast car. As such, the C2 remains one of the most desirable Corvettes of all time, whether due to its svelte looks or its practical performance on-road or track.

Brochures Used: 1963 – 1967 Corvette, 1965 Chevrolet Full Line, 1963 Corvette Specifications (© GM Heritage Center, PDF)

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8/10/22: This article was updated to correct the horsepower rating of the L84 engine option, as well as to clarify language about the final “model year” year of fuel injection.