Page 87 - Barrett-Jackson_Experience_Spring2021

By now most people know the story of Chevy’s car from 1938: the Adler Trumpf Rennlimousine.
Corvette. It was GM’s answer to the popular and While a mouthful to say, once in sheet metal, the
spritely European sports cars that enamored American boattail roofline and spine-divided rear window were
GIs while stationed overseas. The powerful engine and uncanny in their similarities and elegant in their
nimble handling endowed the Corvette as a heroic simplicity. Thus was born the classic 1963 Split-
automobile; a car enjoyed by everyone, from racers Window, and a second ’Vette legend was born.
and designers to astronauts and the local grocer. Offered with No Reserve at the 2021 Barrett-Jackson
Chevy’s homegrown performer was emblematic of Scottsdale Auction, March 20-27, are four 1963 Split-
the times, and the optimism and freedom the open Window Corvette Resto-Mods. Each is a beautiful
road presented. It was America’s take on the sports car, reimagining of the timeless C2 Corvette design shared
and one it certainly got right. When the time came to with the precision and power of modern performance.
introduce a new second-generation of Corvette, GM
looked inward, encouraging their top designers to
create something unique, a design that reflected on the LOT #1343 (Black over Kalahari)
successes and opportunities that lay ahead. The result Starting things off is this 650hp LT4-powered
was a timeless and legendary automobile, one that 1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe. The 6.2-liter
took the Corvette to new heights. supercharged V8 channels its might through a GM
8L90 8-speed automatic transmission and roars to
As the story goes, Pete Brock – then a young designer
at GM – sketched the initial idea for what would life thanks to a custom side-exit exhaust. The Split-
become the body of the second-generation (C2) Window’s classic body was set on a bespoke frame
Corvette in 1957. Based on the Q-Corvette concept, and uses a modified C7 Corvette suspension with
the exotic and shark-like styling of the Q-Corvette RideTech adjustable coilovers and brakes courtesy of
would go on to form the bones of GM Design Director the C7’s Z51 performance package. The no-expense-
Bill Mitchell’s self-funded 1959 Stingray race car. spared build is finished in custom-mixed PPG Black
Mitchell’s Stingray Racer would inspire the styling Diamond paint over a tan Kalahari leather interior.
direction of the second-gen Corvette. The results went Keeping the cabin temperate is a vintage air climate
beyond all expectations and, whether convertible or control system, and the driver looks out onto a leather
coupe, the new Corvette took command. dashboard and Dakota Digital carbon-fiber gauges. No
stone was left unturned nor detail left untouched in
As engineers and designers know, everything comes the build of this corvette. It’s a true stunner and only
from something, and the 1963 Corvette’s famed split the first of four.
window owes a nod to the little-known German race

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