"The Corvette Stingray had grown to be America's most popular sports car since its debut in 1953 but it was time for a change for the 1963-1967 models. Even the most superlative design grows whiskers after a decade and Chevrolet Chief, Bill Mitchell and stylist, Larry Shinoda, faced a tough task; to improve a living legend. Not only did they succeed but their creation turned into a modern classic and they created the most collectible Corvette of them all, sending sales soaring to record levels. Seeds were planted by the Stingray Special racer and experimental XP-720 which displayed a smooth fastback profile and split back window. These and other styling details such as pivoting hidden headlights, doors cut into the roof, and a swage line dip all wound up in the production Stingray. The four headlights aligned with the pointy front end when shut, rotating open when needed. Luggage space grew, though lack of a boot lid earned few plaudits. There was less fibreglass but nearly twice as much steel in the sculptured body, which rode a shorter 98-inch wheelbase.
This truly stunning example of the 427 Corvette C2 Stingray was first manufactured in St Louis, Missouri by GM in June 1967 and supplied by Orr Chev-Cadillac in Texas, confirmed by the NCRS Judging Chairman Tom Falconer in a dating certificate included in the history file. The car is presented in a stunning combination of near unmarked metallic Marlboro Maroon coachwork with full black trim, the Stinger hood (Bonnet bulge) which was a 1967 BB option only and all the chrome trimmings one would expect. From new it was specified with factory air conditioning - rare for a convertible - and features the Rallye wheels again a 1967 only option and the side exhaust which sounds fabulous. Being the big block 427ci V8 with 390 bhp this example also ticks the box for power and the ability to really surprise modern day traffic.
We can ascertain from the history file that the car was purchased by an Italian collector in Parma in 2015 from a Mr Crecos in Illinois, USA an NCRS member who had the car restored. Once in Italy an engine fault resulted in the owner spending circa €30,000 on an engine rebuild and upgrades to the lights for Italian roadgoing reasons. Our vendor, who had been searching for a top notch C2, flew to Parma in 2016 having heard that post rebuild, the collector was looking to sell his example and buy a Porsche 356 Speedster. After a coffee and inspection he fell in love and made an offer before purchasing and sending the car back to the UK. Having already had an engine rebuild, our vendor was aware it would benefit from a gearbox rebuild and, wanting the car to be absolutely perfect for him, he decided almost immediately to commission Claremont Corvette in April 2016 to rebuild the gearbox. Our vendor now states the car runs and drives superbly and invoices for all the work undertaken during its time in Italy and the UK can be found within the history file alongside manuals, history and title reports, NCRS communication and dating certificate, US certificate of title, Italian papers and UK V5C certificate."