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68 BARRETT-JACKSON EXPERIENCE WINTER 2024THIS 1963 CORVETTE SPLIT-WINDOW PACKS A Z06 PUNCHRACING PEDIGREEOut of the past seven decades of Corvette production, the model year 1963 is particularly important to collectors and enthusiasts with the debut of the redesigned secondgeneration Corvette Sting Ray. Featuring otherworldly body styling – now in Split-Window coupe and convertible forms, the new Corvette Sting Ray design was rooted in sketches penned by a young Peter Brock in 1957, with further development through GM design chief Bill Mitchell’s self-funded, SCCA champion Stingray race car and refinements to production reality by Larry Shinoda. As the first Corvette to be equipped with fully independent suspension as standard equipment, the advanced new 1963 Sting Ray was also available with a comprehensive racing option that gained immediate fame as the RPO Z06 Special Equipment Package. Including most everything necessary to obtain a virtually race-ready Corvette straight from the dealer floor, RPO Z06 brought an array of upgrades, including a thicker front stabilizer bar, larger-diameter shock absorbers, higher-rate springs and uprated brakes, including fade-resistant sintered metallic brake linings, plus a dual-circuit master cylinder and vacuum booster. Initially priced at $1,818.45, adding the RPO Z06 package cost nearly half as much as the basic Corvette Sting Ray.