Vehicle Description
Soon after its 1953 New York introduction, by 1955, Chevrolet's
Corvette was infused with small-block V-8 power and tirelessly
developed into a formidable racing contender that shattered speed
records at Daytona Beach and utterly dominated SCCA
production-class road racing during the late 1950s. A large part of
this success was rooted in the growing pipeline of race-bred
factory options developed by Zora Arkus-Duntov and his engineers,
which made it possible to buy a virtual track-ready Corvette from
the dealer showroom as early as 1957 with the new fuel-injection
and competition-ready brake and handling packages. Not even the
1957 AMA racing ban could blunt the Corvette's charge, and by 1960,
it rose to international glory with a hard-won GT 5.0 class victory
scored by Team Cunningham drivers John Fitch and Bob Grossman at
the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Upping the ante for 1963, the redesigned second-generation Corvette
Sting Ray was the first equipped with standard fully independent
suspension and now available with a comprehensive racing option-the
RPO Z06 Special Equipment Package-including most everything
necessary to obtain a virtually race-ready Corvette straight from
the dealer floor. Among those upgrades were a thicker front
stabilizer bar, larger-diameter shock absorbers, higher-rate
springs and uprated brakes, including fade-resistant sintered
metallic brake linings, a dual-circuit master cylinder and vacuum
booster. Initially priced at $1,818.45, RPO Z06 cost nearly half as
much as the basic vehicle.
Corvettes equipped with RPO Z06 were only available with
Chevrolet's high-winding RPO L84 327 CI V-8 rated at 360 HP with
Rochester mechanical fuel-injection, 11.0:1 compression,
free-breathing cylinder heads, low-restriction exhaust and a hot
solid-lifter cam. A 4-speed manual transmission and Positraction
limited-slip rear end were mandatory options with RPO Z06. Except
for roll bars and fire extinguishers, Z06 Corvettes could be driven
to the track, prepared, raced and driven home.
In total, 2,610 Corvettes were powered by the potent L84 "Fuelie"
engine, and just 199 were equipped with the all-out RPO Z06
package. This 1963 "Split-Window" Corvette Coupe is one of those
precious few legends, sporting a comprehensive frame-off rotisserie
restoration in the factory-correct Sebring Silver and black color
combination. Having recently been awarded NCRS Top Flight honors in
2023 with a judging score of 99.6 out of 100 possible points, this
extremely rare Z06 Corvette retains the matching-numbers, RF-suffix
327/360 HP L84 V-8 engine, paired with a mandatory 4-speed manual
transmission. In addition to its Z06 special heavy duty suspension
and Z06 metallic brakes with finned drums and cooling fins, this
example is surprisingly equipped with power windows and an AM/FM
radio. Steel wheels mounting full-size bright "spinner" wheel
covers and a set of original Firestone Deluxe Champion blackwall
tires provide the proper finishing touches to this extremely rare
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
