1965 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray FIA Coupé

Chassis no. 194376S100773

Footnotes

The heavily revised Corvette Sting Ray arrived in 1963 sporting a totally new ladder-type chassis, and for the first time there was a Gran Turismo coupe in the range. As had been the case with the previous (1956-62) generation of Corvettes, development proceeded slowly, being characterised by annual facelifts and few engineering changes of note. On the latter front, the long-overdue arrival of four-wheel disc brakes for 1965 was the most significant development. Chevrolet's 327cu in (5.4-litre) standard V8 was joined by an optional 396cu in (6.5-litre) Big Block for 1965 only, then a '427' until the end of Sting Ray production in 1967. The 'Stingray', of course, continued. Further developments included the new options of a stylish side-exit exhaust system and telescopic steering column, while fuel injection was phased out.

This Corvette Sting Ray was built on 10th September 1965 and shipped to Queen City Chevrolet in Cincinnati before eventually ending up in Butzbach, Germany. The original FIA papers (H1637/99) show that the car was purchased on 6th March 1998 by Ronny Bredhauer. Upon acquiring the car, Ronny subjected the car to an extensive restoration with renowned racecar builder, Chevy Cars, owned and run at the time by Mike Freigang. The car was built to FIA Appendix K regulations and used in a number of Historic Motor Racing events across Europe.

At the time Ronny was Managing Director of the FIA GTC TC series in Germany, and shortly afterwards became the organiser of the Jim Clarke revival. Ronny is credited as helping 'Simbin', a Swedish PC gaming company, create the PC game GT Legends, which was released in 2006 and in which this car (number '900', then in its black Coca-Cola livery) features.

The car has extensive European race history, having competed in Germany with Coca-Cola GmbH sponsorship under the DMSB (Deutsche Motor Sport Bund) FIA GTC-65 Series and in the UK in both the HSCC and Masters series. It also competed in the 59th Coppa Intereuropa Storica at Monza; Spa 6-Hour; Reims; Pau; Bugatti Circuit; Hockenheim; Nürburgring; Snetterton 3-Hour; Brands Hatch Super Prix; Silverstone Classic (on five occasions); Donington Historic; and the Oulton Park Gold Cup.

The car was acquired by the vendor in 2015, who subsequently restored the Corvette to its former condition. Since then, the car has competed in club racing in the RAC Britannia Trophy, finishing first in class; the Silverstone Classic; and the 2016 and 2018 Le Mans Classic, and was invited to race at the 2017 Goodwood Revival. Notable past drivers include Jacky Ickx, Colin Turkington, Jack Goff, and Sam Thomas. This very well-known and extensively campaigned Corvette Sting Ray is offered with a substantial history file.