Mike Matune, our man in the field, blogs about another great vintage racing event
in Southern Virginia.
VRG and VDCA combined for an early season event at Virginia International Raceway. Despite early threats of intense weather, the event ran under clear skies. The organizers somehow managed to hold the rain off until evening and the racing was over, neat trick! Here the Group 3 field, top, moves out of “Oak Tree” and stretches all the way down the back straight. Noted author Tom Co...
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Sting Ray
STINGRAY VS STING RAY: NAME GAME!
My trivial pursuit of truth in branding cuts through some of the confusion surrounding one of the most beautiful and iconic Corvettes ever.
It all started with an innocent note I sent to a friend, Frank Markus, Technical Director at Motor Trend. Essentially I called his attention to what I thought was a typo – referencing Bill Mitchell’s legendary ’59 Corvette Racer (XP-87), above, as Stingray - in the 55 Years of Stingray article in the September 2013 issue. When Mitchell had the Corvette b...
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RARE L88 CORVETTES: STING RAY & STINGRAY!
It’s a rare day when two important super-high-performance L88 Corvettes cross the block. It doesn’t get better than these prime examples.
Chevrolet tried everything to discourage people from buying L88 Corvettes in 1967 to 1969. The 427 engine with aluminum heads and ultra-high-compression was really a single four-barrel track engine, not engineered to run with mufflered exhausts and on pump gas. Initially dealers were discouraged from selling them and Chevrolet rated the L88 at five horsepo...
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’63 CORVETTE STING RAY: HARLEY EARL ONE-OFF!
Styled by GM Design for Harley Earl, it’s one of the most significant C-2 Corvettes ever to cross the auction block.
Known internally at GM as “Shop Order 10323,” this stunning ’63 Sting Ray convertible is truly one-of-a-kind. GM Design customized it for the man often credited for introducing design and color to the American automobile industry. Harley J. Earl joined GM in 1928 and became head of the General Motors Design, retiring in 1958. His designs in the 1950s Motoramas are what broug...
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VINTAGE COMPETITION CORVETTES: CARLISLE REVISITED!
Mike Matune showcases some of the finest vintage racing Corvettes, off track
at Corvettes At Carlisle.
It was like I couldn’t get enough of Corvettes. Scarcely a week after attending the Monterey Reunion where Corvette was the featured marque, I found myself in Carlisle, PA attending Corvettes at Carlisle. With dust from Laguna Seca literally still on my shoes, I wandered the grounds among the Corvette faithful, as fervent a crowd as you would ever hope to see. There’s little doubt ...
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