Flawless 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Has Three Rare Features To Brag About

A radical redesign over its predecessor, the second-gen Corvette took showrooms by storm with a much sleeker and aggressive design. The coupe is drop-dead gorgeous thanks to its V-shaped roof, and I'm a sucker for muscular haunches and pop-up headlamps.

The C2 remained in production for five years and was sold with some of GM's hottest big-block engines. The 396-cubic-inch (6.5-liter) arrived in 1965 with 425 horsepower, while the 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) lump broke cover the following year and delivered up to 435 horses. But as much as I love big-block engines, I'd take a small-block 1963 model over a late C2 any day of the week.

Why, do you ask? Well, the first-year C2 has a couple of cool design features to brag about. First, it came with a split rear window. Sure, it provided awful rearward visibility, but it's a lovely tribute to pre-WWII automobiles. It's also a one-year-only feature because Chevrolet discontinued the split window after 1963.

I would even say that it's a rare item. I know Chevrolet sold some 21,500 Corvettes that year, but only 10,594 were coupes. And some owners eventually replaced the split window with a full-size 1964 unit to improve visibility.

The rear window is not the only 1963-exclusive feature on these Corvettes. Chevrolet also ditched the hood louvers for the 1964 model year. Not a big deal? Well, it is for me. I'm a big fan of hood louvers, especially if they're mounted toward the nose, like on the 1963 'Vette. It definitely beats having a hood scoop.

This brings me to an even rarer 1963 feature that graces the very red coupe you see here. Let me explain. The C2 did not get a big block until 1965, so all 1963 examples are bound to hide 327 small-block V8s under the hood. However, Chevy offered various iterations of the mill. There was a base powerplant with 250 horsepower, a mid-range lump with 300 horses, and a range-topping variant with 340 horsepower.

Finally, the C2 was also available with a fuel-injected version of the small block. A carryover from 1962, the Rochester-topped unit provided 360 horsepower and spawned the most powerful Corvette available that year. But it was also expensive, so it was nowhere near as popular as the other 327 choices.

While the non-injected 340-horsepower V8 found its way into nearly 7,000 examples, the "fuelie" was ordered by just 2,610 customers. That number is low enough to call this option rare. And since this red beauty is a coupe, we're probably looking at one of fewer than 1,500 units with this body/powertrain combo.

And I'm not going to bring up transmission, paint, and other options, all of which would narrow production figures down to fewer than 500. This sports car is rare, no matter how you look at it. Moreover, it's a finely restored gem that still has its numbers-matching V8 under the hood.

It's a quarter-million-dollar classic you don't get to see every day, so hit the play button below for a full walkaround an audible taste of its fuel-injected powerplant.