1963 Corvette C2 Sting Ray Interior

Left: The new Corvette Sting Ray featured full instrumentation and a telescoping steering wheel. Center: As in previous years, the dashboard center included a clock, heater / ventilation controls and radio. Air conditioning (RPO C60; $422) was available for the first time in a Corvette, although only 278 (1.29%) were so equipped for 1963. Another first for the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray: RPO N40 power steering - $75.35 - included on 3,063 (14.24%) '63 Corvettes; and an AM-FM radio U69 ( $174.35) found on 9,178 (42.66%) 63s. Right: Seats were reasonably comfortable, especially considering the other domestic offerings of the time. If "Saddle Tan" interior was ordered the seat material was leather, also a Corvette first.

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Like the body and the chassis, the interior was all new for the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray and it was also a radical change. Aeronautics was in fashion at the time, so the inside of the new Sting Ray had a basis in airplane cockpits. There was a strong separation between the driver and the passenger. It was both good looking and easy to use. Right: The passenger "grab bar" was carried over from the C1 Corvettes and considering the performance increase, was needed more than ever.

Hide-away headlights made their Corvette debut in the 1963 Sting Ray and were a rare sight at that time. They contributed to the sleek advanced styling of the Sting Ray. Exposed headlights would return in 2005, 42 years later. In 1963 they offered a number of advantages, as the headlights of the time were large and a problem to designers looking for an aerodynamically efficient design. The drawbacks included added complexity, cost and weight.

Above: The new Corvette headlights closed (left) and open (right). The early headlights featured fiberglass buckets; metal buckets were used later in the year and on the balance of the mid-years production. Below: The mechanical action was via an electric motor and rotation was on the transverse center; the system was reliable.

Right: The fuel filler door gets a emblem attached in what is obviously a staged photograph.

In the YouTube video we see the production process for the 1963 Corvette. You'll note, at the 5:31 mark, that this is a "Tanker" Z06 (N03 option) car.

From the 1963 brochure: four views of the new Corvette Sting Ray.