Chevrolet has revealed that it considered designing the C8 Corvette with a split rear window similar to the 1963 ‘Vette.
In an interview with Muscle Cars and Trucks, Chevrolet Performance exterior design director Tom Peters stated that the design team tried but couldn’t make such a split rear window suit the mid-engined Corvette.
Also Watch: Jay Leno Shows Off his New Very Early Corvette Stingray from 1963
“We looked at a (split window)… it was too literal… and however way we did it, it came across as forced,” he said. “Because the ’63 is so powerful, is there a way to represent that split window theme in a modern way? We tried to emulate the theme in the rear, and if you look, you can see a theme come through the roof… the glass aims and breaks subtly, and that lines up with the top of the motor. And that lines up with the Stingray emblem. So your eye connects the dots and it’s kind of a thematic element to the split window.”
Chevrolet premiered the 1963 Corvette coupe with a split rear window thanks to design chief Bill Mitchell who wanted to continue the vehicle’s eye-catching centerline from the nose through to the car’s rear end. The split rear window Corvette is absolutely iconic and despite its striking good looks, was kicked to the curb the following year in favor of a more traditional single-piece rear window.
Would the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray look any good with a split rear window? We’ll never know, but if there are any budding rendering artists who think they can give us an accurate idea of how it could have looked, shoot us an email at tips(at)carscoops.com.
1963 Corvette split-window photo from Bring A Trailer
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