Most beautiful American sports car

Someone, somehow must have hypnotized Bill Mitchell at the 1957 auto show in Turin, Italy. The General Motors design genius had returned to Detroit carrying photographs of provocative Italian sports cars with aerodynamic lines and impressive speed. “Chevrolet needs a new sports car,” he told GM executives. However, they were reluctant to commit to a new sports car program, bound by an industry-wide agreement to limit performance car production following the deaths of 83 spectators killed by flying debris from an exploding Mercedes-Benz during the Le Mans race two years earlier.

Instead of giving up, Mitchell set up a stealth design team in “The Hammer Room,” hidden behind a tool room far away from the GM executive suites. Mitchell even contributed his own money to the project, and design legends Larry Shinoda and Tony Lapine added their artistry. Over time, the political climate shifted and Chevy executives lined up behind the Stingray.

When the revolutionary car came to market in 1963, it was breathtaking. The 1963 Stingray featured many unique details, such as the 17-piece hubcaps that were ruled impractical for mass production in subsequent models. Many collectors consider the 1963 Corvette Stingray to be the most beautiful American sports car ever made.

John Amsden of Estero has owned 10 Corvettes over the years, but he still remembers his first look at the 1963 Stingray coupe with its hideaway headlights and its split rear window. “I first saw
the Stingray in a car magazine, before it came out,” he says. “I had never seen anything like it before.”

GM made about 21,000 Stingrays that year, half coupes and half convertibles. John was still in high school in Indianapolis and couldn’t afford to pay $6,500 for a fully-loaded new car, but in 1971, his brother found a used ‘63 coupe in the newspaper for $1,400. The odometer was frozen at 63k miles, and the owner had replaced GM’s finicky fuel injector with a carburetor.

“The car was eight years old and pretty beat up, and I really wasn’t looking for a restoration project,” John recalls. “The interior was in shambles, the bumpers were gone, and the original Tuxedo Black paint had been covered with yellow.”

However, John recognized the rarity in the ruins. Chevy had made only a handful of Stingrays equipped with a saddle brown leather interior and Tuxedo black exterior. The exact number is unknown.

Everything else that made the ‘63 Stingray cool and collectible was still intact. The split window, abandoned after that first year due to concerns about the driver’s rear view visibility. The simulated hood vents, also unique to that model year. Styling details like the vertically mounted radio and the driver’s side mirror. The list goes on.

John’s restoration journey was as innovative as the car itself, headquartered at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. “My daughter’s babysitter’s son was in the auto shop class,” says John, “and they were looking for a project car. Over the next two school years, we did the body-off restoration there and restored it to its original black exterior color. I worked on the interior when I could.”

In 1997, John and his brother loaded the restored Stingray onto a trailer and towed it from Indianapolis to Estero, where John settled full-time. His award-winning classic captured first place honors at several Florida competitions, including the Corvettes on the Circle show in Sarasota and the Corvettes of Charlotte County show.

These days, John prefers cruise-ins to shows. He plans to be in downtown Fort Myers on Saturday, January 28 for the monthly River District Alliance cruise-in. The free event, held from 4 to 8 p.m. every fourth Saturday from October through May, includes free food, music and more.

A perfect chance to see the most beautiful American sports car ever made.