Throwback Thursday

            The Stingray became synonymous with the Chevrolet Corvette when it entered production in 1963.  This was a car that Car and Driver described as, “At long last America has a formidable weapon to challenge Europe’s fastest grand touring cars on their home ground.”  The Stingray Corvette stayed in production until 1968 when the next year the C3 was debuted.  Since then, the Stingray nameplate on the Corvette has laid dormant until the all new C7 Corvette debuted at the Detroit auto show. At the reveal, it was announced that they were bringing back the Stingray with the new Corvette.

            The base engine in the 1963 Corvette produced only 250 horsepower.  On May 28^th, Chevrolet released some of the performance numbers for the 2014 Corvette. The base engine in the new Stingray makes heart pumping 455 horsepower. This makes the new Corvette the most powerful base model ever. Back in the 1960s, such options like power steering, air conditioning, and electric window cranks were an option. All of these features will be standard equipment in the new 2014 Stingray.  Such engine features like direct fuel injection and active fuel management weren’t a thought in 1963 with the first generation Stingray.  The new Corvette will have both features in their small block V-8. Direct fuel injection means that the fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber of each cylinder, which makes the engine more fuel efficient since there is now a more precise amount of fuel being injected into each cylinder.  Active fuel management means that when the driver isn’t demanding a huge amount of power from the engine, it will deactivate four cylinders to be more fuel efficient. When power is required again, the engine will reactivate those cylinders and bring the 455 horsepower V-8 to life.

            Now the question has to be asked, which Corvette do you think is the best ever? The original Stingray, built from 1963-1967 that many consider the best Corvette ever, or the brand new 7^th generation Corvette Stingray beginning production this year.

Matthew Colan

Handy Chevrolet