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Corvette C2: Is This The Best Corvette Of Them All?
Words Marco Mancino / Photos courtesy of Chevrolet Media
Choosing only one out of every Corvette is a bit like loving one child more than the others: very difficult and morally unfair. However, the C2 Stingray (often also referred to as Sting Ray) produced between 1963 and 1967 has something that arouses uncanny emotions, starting with a design that clearly stands out from the soft curves of the legendary C1 and which draws liberally from those edges that characterized the golden age of automotive design, devoted to a style that inevitably turned its look to the great Italian pencils. The Corvette C2 is the quintessence of a grand tourer capable of satisfying even those drivers who expect performance with a capital P and the forever young look of a thoroughbred sports car.
After all, it is precisely thanks to the C2 that Chevrolet is able to address a clientele that is not limited to sunny Sunset Boulevard, but which reflects the need to drive fast on any road and track, a goal achieved with the Stingray, which is also available both as a coupe and convertible. The performance boost was accompanied by upgraded brakes (fitting front disc brakes), independent front suspension and a fiberglass bodywork that kept the overall weight down to under a ton and a half (1,423 kg). The C2 Stingray was and is a design masterpiece, with a wide and angular nose that leaves room for a cockpit gathered just in front of an unmistakable V-tail with two separate glasses.
Under the bonnet there is a 5.4-litre V8 that puts out 304 horsepower at 5,000 rpm, an extremely elastic engine that generates a torque of 488 Nm at about 3,200 rpm via a 4-speed automatic gearbox, obviously mated to the rear-wheels. This translates into very reactive driving dynamics capable of biting the asphalt on a winding road, at least as much as on a track where it was possible to really understand the potential of a sports car ahead of its time from every point of view, where also mechanically it had nothing to envy to its European competitors.
The passenger compartment is elegant and sporty at the same time, with only two seats, despite the fact that there is a sort of bench created in the rear area, useful only as an emergency seat for short distances. After all, the place that really matters is on the driver’s side, from which you can enjoy the best view in the game, having the two ends of the engine bonnet as references for the overall dimensions and tightening the three-spoke steering wheel, the ultimate tool for leading the American dream on the most engaging and beautiful roads in America and beyond. The fact of seeing few of them on road and the iconic role covered by the previous C1 do nothing but fuel that aura of legend that hovers around the C2 Stingray, for me the favorite son. Because deep down, even if we want to deny it and hide behind answers halfway between diplomatic and elusive, everyone has his favorite and that’s mine. Who knows, maybe you think the same.
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