The Spectacular 1963 Corvette

A base Corvette coupe in 1963 was $4,257. If a buyer ordered all possible options on a coupe, the sticker price jumped to more than $6,200. A convertible’s base price was $4,037. Ironically, with the beautiful new coupe design, nearly as many convertibles were sold that year.

The engines that were offered for the 1963 Corvette included three carbureted versions; a 250-, 300-, and 340-horsepower variants, as well as a 360-horsepower fuel-injected powerhouse engine, which was made available to consumers for an extra $430.40.

Chevrolet manufactured 21,513 Corvette Sting Rays in 1963, of which 10,594 were coupes, of which 199 were produced with the Z06 option package. *Road & Track test of a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray convertible powered by the 360 hp, fuel-injected 327-cu.in V-8 with 3.70:1 gears and a four-speed transmission.

10,594 split-window coupes were made in 1963. Total Corvette production for the year was 21,513 and the other half was comprised of the convertible. The 1963 coupe included hood vents that were merely decorative and non-functional. These were also removed in 1964.

After seven years of design and planning, the 1963 Sting Ray (now spelled as two words) began production in the summer of 1962, and offered to the public on September 28th. Designer Larry Shinoda, under the styling direction of Bill Mitchell, is given credit for the final design.