1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe 🇮🇹

This 1963 Corvette Coupe has an all-Italian history. It was originally purchased by the famous TV personality Mike Bongiorno, a household name who pioneered the first quiz shows and was enormously popular on Italian television. The original Florence license plate bears witness to this Corvette’s life in Italy for several decades until it was finally left in storage, after the death of Mike Bongiorno in 2009. The Nicola Bulgari Car Collection rediscovered and bought it in October 2011, when its condition required a complete restoration lasting about eighteen months.

When the car was found, it was still fitted with the original 327 cid 300 hp “Turbo Fire” engine, together with a four-gear manual transmission. During the restoration, they had the idea of creating a sort of “resto-mod”, substituting the original V8 (which was put into storage in the spares warehouse) with a 350 cid “crate” HO (high output) engine with increased performance and 330 hp, still matched with a 4-speed manual transmission. The transplant work was carried out in Germany, by a specialist, Giovanni Ciccone, an expert in preparing Corvettes, where the brakes (front discs in place of drums) and the suspension also received an upgrade.

The color of the body, Sebring Silver, like the interior in vinyl Red, stayed true to the original. Only headrests on the seats and “Rally Wheels” instead of the original “Turbo Wheels” were added. Now this “Split Window” Corvette provides superior performance and greater safety in order for this timeless classic to give even more pleasure.

Company
General Motors

Wheelbase
98in

Interior trim
Red leather

Brakes
front disc, rear drums

Make
Chevrolet

Length
175.3in

Engine
V8 - 350cid

Tires
P215/75R15

Model
Corvette Sting Ray

Width
69.6in

Original Price
$4,252

Body style
2-door Sport Coupe

Weight
3150lbs

Horsepower
330hp @ 5200rpm

Production
10,594

Model year
1963

Exterior paint
Sebring Silver Met.

Transmission
4-speed manual

To design a sport car able to combine performance, style and practicality in one model is not a simple task. Even less simple is to create a sport car able to withstand the test of time. The Corvette is the only true sports car made in the USA which over the years has stayed faithful to one golden rule: to be capable of reinventing itself without losing sight of its history. The designers, who at the end of the 50s, took on the task of studying a new generation of “Vette”, were committed to developing the original concept of the Corvette without distorting it. The three men put in charge of this delicate job were William L. Mitchell, head of styling at General Motors, Larry Shinoda, head stylist on the Corvette project, and Zora Arkus-Duntov, engineer and test driver of Belgian origin who promoted the competitive growth of the Corvette, making a decisive contribution to the “anti-ageing” of the Chevrolet brand.

With an average of around 10,000 units a year, the first-generation Corvette (presented in ’53) lasted until 1962, enjoying a good commercial success. In this time, it had amply earned its role as a thoroughbred sports car, above all after 1957 when it appeared as protagonist in numerous victories on the most important national circuits. In spite of being updated over the years, by the beginning of the 60s the Corvette was starting to look outdated. The gradual increase in performance was showing all too evident effects on the dated chassis. The need for a new model to present in 1963 was the perfect occasion to make the Corvette a true international-standard sports car, without, obviously, distorting its traditional “made in the USA” personality. The use of a new perimeter chassis and rear axle with independent suspension and with central leaf spring, radically changed the Corvette’s road performance. Traction, steering and road grip greatly improved, making powerful engines more accessible. The basic chassis section turned out to be so effective that it was maintained for the third-generation Corvette, produced from 1968 to 1982!

For the first time in history, the ’63 model year was offered in two versions: Coupe and Convertible. The time was ripe for a decidedly more comfortable “Vette”; the sporty attraction of the convertible models was indisputable, but the practicality of the Coupe would win a large consensus especially from customers far from the sunshine of California or Florida. Even with a closed body a Corvette could never manage to be banal; this led to a style solution which would consequently go down in history: the “Split Window”, that is, a back window divided in two by a central rib. The “Split Window” was probably not the best guarantee for an optimal rear view, although it undoubtedly added enormous charm to the car. In fact, in the 1964 model the split window was replaced by a panoramic window made in one piece, precisely to facilitate vision.
The general lines of the Corvette (with a fiberglass body) recapture those of the racing prototype designed by “Bill” Mitchell and Larry Shinoda in 1959, the Sting Ray. That design, so aggressive and futuristic, seemed to have been purposely created
to inaugurate the new development of the sports Chevrolet. Its name, equally sharp and unusual, found its place in the rear emblem; so, the Corvette became the “Corvette Sting Ray”.
Under the hood was the new small block 327 cid Chevy, available in four versions: 250 and 300 hp with a choice of manual or automatic transmission and 340 or 360 hp only with manual transmission. The L84 engine with “Fuel Injection” system and 360 hp cost the grand sum of 430 dollars extra! The standard Corvette model year ’63 came with a manual three-gear transmission, but the options on offer included a four-speed Muncie manual transmission ($188.30) or alternatively an automatic two- speed Powerglide ($199.10).

The engineer Duntov gave particular attention to the needs of sporting clients using the Corvette on the racetrack, leading to the creation of the famous Z06 package in ’63. The option defined as “Special Performance Equipment” included a larger anti-roll bar, a double braking system with booster, reinforced brake hoses, aluminum ventilated front drums, increased springs and shock absorbers and finally a 36 gallon tank in place of the standard 20. The cost of the Z06 option was 1,818 dollars and was only available in combination with the L84 engine. For the Convertible, the Z06 option was only made available later, but due to lack of space it was necessary to forego the larger fuel tank. Altogether there were 21,513 specimens of the ’63 model year Corvette produced, but only 199 of the Z06.