Take a Ride in a ’63 Sting Ray with Jay Leno and Josh Duhamel

Watch for the car, but stay for the comedic ending.

Last month, comedian Jay Leno and actor Josh Duhamel spent some time cruising around Burbank, California in a rare 1963 Sting Ray, talking about cars and life for Jay Leno’s Garage.  Josh, who grew up in Minot, North Dakota, said the coolest vehicle in his high school was a Toyota pick-up truck. But his favorite vehicle has always been the ’63 Sting Ray.

Since his high school days, Josh has seen and driven a number of incredible cars — ones that are way cooler than his old truck. He shared that he’s driven muscle cars in the past, including a ’69 Camaro SS and the ’76 yellow Camaro he drove in Transformers. And, in 2009, Josh paced the Indianapolis 500 in a ZR1 Corvette. So he was already well accustomed to driving sports cars before hopping in for a ride with Leno.

At the end of their ride, Jay surprised Josh by letting him pace a race with a ZR1. Humorously, the race ended up being the Claremont Senior Bicycle Group race. Of course, the contestants may not have needed a pacer, but Josh and Jay were happy to oblige.

The History of the ’63 Sting Ray 

While the ’63 Sting Ray may not be the most powerful or sporty-looking car Josh had ever drive, it may very well be the rarest. Even for its time, the car was fairly rare, with only 21,513 total coupes and convertibles built. And, out of those cars, only 10,594 were split-window coupes like the one Josh drove. The car’s style is also radically different from previous Corvettes, which were curvy. The ‘63 changed to sharp edges, a fastback roof, and hidden headlights.

The fact that Chevrolet only made coupes with a split rear window for that single year also adds to the car’s value, which currently sits at $192,500. But why was did Chevrolet discontinue the car’s production after just one year? Well, despite the beauty many people see in the Sting Ray today, the split-window design wasn’t functional for the average driver. The split actually limited a driver’s visibility in the rearview mirror.

Additionally, mass-producing a car with a split window turned out to be more difficult than imagined. Compared to a single-window design, the Sting Ray’s windows required twice the labor, weather-stripping, screws and time. Of course, with so many people complaining about visibility issues and the extra materials and labor required for production, it was only a matter of time before the company gave up the ghost.

Thus, after only one year of production, Chevrolet stopped manufacturing the Sting Ray, making it one of the most collectible coupes of all time. And, what once sold for just over $4,000 is practically priceless today.  The 2014 Corvette Stingray sells for roughly 13 times more than the original did. However, many car enthusiasts and historians still believe that, although other sports cars may rise to challenge the 1963 Sting Ray, the original model will forever reign supreme.

Screengrabs: Jay Leno’s Garage / YouTube