Found Clip Reveals Fascinating Facts About C2 Corvette Stingray

Chevy’s 1963 Corvette was a truly revolutionary design, and hearing how it came to be is no less interesting, thanks to My Classic Car.

When we think of the Corvette and its very existence, we typically give most of the credit to Zora-Arkus Duntov. But in reality, of course, there are many other folks that helped turn the improbable sports car into an enduring icon. One of those people is Pete Brock, designer of the 1963 Corvette Stingray. Which is obviously one of the most iconic automotive designs in history. So, we were obviously pleased to see that My Classic Car recently posted this previously unreleased interview with Brock from 1996 on their YouTube channel.

In the uncut clip, Brock begins by talking about his early childhood love of cars which actually stemmed from rides in his neighbor’s highly modified MG. From there, Brock soon discovered that he wanted to become an automotive designer. After a stint at the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Brock’s dream quickly transformed into a reality.

“Mack (Brock’s college instructor) arranged to have Chuck Jordan fly out to look at my portfolio,” Brock recalled. “Then they flew me back to GM. I was 19 and they hired me, so I went to work for Jordan and Bill Mitchell. By October of 1957, Mitchell was thinking about designing a new Corvette.” At the same time, GM had decided that they were going to get out of racing. Which meant that Arkus-Duntov’s SS Corvette mule was suddenly available.

“Mitchell was able to buy the mule for a dollar from GM,” Brock said. “Then we designed the first Stingray prototype on that particular car. A fellow named Chuck Pellman and myself laid out the lines for that car. Larry Shinoda came in and finished the car up with Mitchell and that became the prototype for Stingray, which was developed into the production car for 1963.”

Corvette Stingray Split Window

It was Mitchell, however, that was responsible for the car’s most memorable styling cue. “Mitchell came in and put the split window on it,” Brock said. “Its origin came from the ’57 Bugatti Atlantique. He always loved the back end on that car. But it was such a complicated and expensive thing, and the vision was so poor out of it that they changed it again in ’64.”

Obviously, the Corvette Stingray prototype was way ahead of its time. Especially given the era in which it was originally designed. “It’s hard to believe that it came out in ’57 and ’58,” Brock said. Because you realize that era, what the cars were looking like coming out of GM, that was the last of the great chrome behemoths that were done by Harley Earl.”

Brock’s insight into the development of the C2 Corvette Stingray is nothing short of fascinating. And it’s well worth watching the entire, nearly hour-long video to hear all about this and his many other incredible designs!

Photos: Chevrolet

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