‘He is a man who was given the sobriquet ‘Father of the Corvette’ – although he wasn’t the ‘inventor’ of the Corvette, a title that belongs to another high-end Chevrolet employee, Harley Earl.

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‘And at the moment at Beverly Hills Car Club we have an iconic 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Coupe L75 327/300 featured with matching numbers. This Corvette is available in its factory color #932 Saddle Tan with a black interior, and comes equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission, 327 V8 engine (300HP), dual side exhaust pipes, and steel wheels.

‘The 1963 Sting Ray production car’s lineage can be traced to two separate GM projects: the Q-Corvette, and GM engineer Bill Mitchell’s racing Sting Ray.

‘The first-ever production Corvette coupe sported a fastback body with a long hood and a raised windsplit that ran the length of the roof and continued down the back on a pillar that bisected the rear window into right and left halves. The split backlite is usually attributed to Mitchell, who claimed to have been inspired by the Bugatti ‘Atlantique’ 57SC coupe.

‘Earl’s inspiration was said to have been an Alfa Romeo coupe with a body by Scaglione shown at the 1954 Turin Auto Show.

‘All the same, the GM engineer Zora Duntov was a big player in the existence of the Corvette; and in many ways Duntov is like the personification of a successful twentieth century American.

‘Zorta followed her there and joined the French air force. When France surrendered, Duntov obtained exit visas from France from the Spanish consulate in Marseilles, not only for Elfi and himself, but for his brother Yura and parents as well. Elfi, who was still living in Paris at the time, made a dramatic dash to Bordeaux in her MG just ahead of the advancing Nazi troops. In the meantime, Duntov and his younger brother Yura hid in a brothel. Five days later, Elfi met up with Duntov and his family and later they boarded a ship in Portugal bound for New York.

‘Soon Zora Duntov left the United States for England to do development work on the Allard sports car at its premises in Clapham in south-west London. Duntov co-drove an Allard in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1952 and 1953. Recognized for his skill, he was invited to join the Porsche team, driving a Porsche 550 RS Spyder at Le Mans in 1954 and 1955, taking a class win the first year. And then he became an employee of GM, and the rest is clearly history.

‘But why are we talking about Zora Duntov with such reverent interest? When perhaps we shouldn’t. For Duntov is the reason why the Unique Selling Point of the car we currently have at Beverly Hills Car Club lost its Unique Selling Point. Duntov strongly disliked the split rear window of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. Pointing out that it raised safety concerns due to the reduced visibility it created. Aesthetically, however, the split window only enhanced the beauty of this fabulous vehicle.

‘Yet I love a paradox – seek for the great truths you may find within them, is one of my adages – and I always salute Zora Duntov for a life exceptionally well lived. As well as having a name that is as iconic as that of the Chevrolet Corvette.

-Alex Manos, Owner