Chassis No. 30837S114407
Engine No. 3114407F0425RE

For most enthusiasts, seeing the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe for the first time was a case of love at first sight. Road & Track opined, “As a purely sporting car, the new Corvette will know few peers on road or track,” while the British publication Motor pronounced, “In most respects the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray is the equal of any GT car to be found on either side of the Atlantic.”

This “split-window” C2 Coupe is finished in Code 936 Sebring Silver paint with a Black upholstered interior, a popular and breathtaking combination as ordered from the factory. Power comes from the optional and numbers matching “L76” 340 horsepower 327 cu-in V8, an increase of 90 horsepower from standard. This “RE” code engine was the most powerful carbureted Corvette powerplant without relying on complicated fuel-injection. Furthermore, the 340 horsepower engine featured large port cylinder heads, domed aluminum pistons, 11.25:1 compression ratio, high speed valve systems, mechanical lifters, increased oil capacity, and a special camshaft – just like the “Fuelie.” Produced in about May of 1963, this Sting Ray was formerly reported to have been ordered with Positraction, AM/FM radio along with its four-speed manual transmission. According to a C2 Registry entry, this split window was purchased through Joe May Chevrolet in Detroit, Michigan in June of that year, yet just four months later sold to its second owner, Raymond Clapp. Clapp kept the car on the road for two more years before storing it with 27,849 miles in 1969. Thirty-seven years later ownership of the car transferred to Clapp's son, who later sold the car to a private collection three years later who commissioned a full restoration in 2016 to return it to the condition it left the St. Louis assembly line in early 1963.

Post-restoration, in 2019, the car was sold to the Academy of Art University Collection in San Francisco, California as an example of the height of General Motors' performance-oriented design when chief stylist Bill Mitchell made the command calls. Today this Sting Ray Coupe with its iconic split rear window is offered with 27,865 miles, a knock off hammer, jack as a tempting example of America's Sports Car at its world-class best.