Core77

Never-produced 1963 Pininfarina Corvette is so beautiful it makes me want to cry

By Rain Noe - September 10, 2010

in Object Culture

I hate the new Corvettes. They remind me of a formerly attractive movie star that's just gone to seed, all bloated and tacky, a shade of their former self. If a car design could die of a drug overdose in a seedy motel off the strip, the new Corvette would do it.

In contrast, this ill-fated Pininfarina-styled Corvette from the '60s is so beautiful it makes me want to weep. It's a long story, but the short of it is that GM made some Corvette bodies available to Pininfarina back in 1963, and the Rondine concept, as it came to be known, was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show that year. And everyone...hated it. By 1964 the plug was pulled and the concept never saw production.

You can read the full depressing tale at Corvette Fever, see more beautiful photos of the car at Ultimate Car Page, and read about a 2008 auction where a Pininfarina-Museum-housed version sold for $1.76 mil at Autoblog.

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JRThro

14 years ago

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It looks like a cross between a Studebaker Avanti and a real Corvette.
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Chris

14 years ago

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That's one limp looking corvette... strongly dislike.
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Pete

14 years ago

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The only thing that concerns me about the car is that the bumpers don't protect it -- in fact, it appears that the body extends beyond the bumpers in the front and back -- I'd start crying if I accidentally backed up "a smidge too far" and cracked an irreplaceable rear-light lens cover.
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Spiv

14 years ago

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That thing is pretty hideous and lazy. It's very easy to see why everyone hated it. It's awful. The B-pillar and rear glass? What appears to be a misshapen trunk? The squared off forward window pane? The extension of the bumpers makes me think this car was designed by the key-framer for The Jetsons.

In contrast, the C2 corvettes that were produced during this time were quite beautiful. The C5 and C6 of now are meh, but they are keeping up with the times. The worst of the lot? C4, and I think that's a fairly universally held opinion.But then most of what came out of the 80's was a bit sketch.
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J

14 years ago

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replace 'Italian' with 'un-crass' and 'Chevy' with 'any americans ever'.
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Jonathan Barnett

14 years ago

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This beautiful shape is the work of Tom Tjaarda, who worked for Ghia at this time. He also designed the fiat 124 spider and the DeTomaso Pantera and similar influenced details are visible in this design if one knows what to look for. WWW.Tjaardadesign.com
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ono

14 years ago

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I actually think this is way prettier and more classy than the 60s corvettes, truly beautiful.
I could see myself having one of these today but a stingray-style corvette would be far too flashy. It depends on what you look for in a car design.
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Jelly

14 years ago

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Looks like a Studebaker and not a sports car
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Robin

14 years ago

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If you like that type of thing, you may also dig this guy's work:
"600v" on deviantart.

http://600v.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2qln7g
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Nathan Wills

14 years ago

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How can you hate the Corvette? Compared with other cars on the road (including Ferrari) it is smaller, and boasts more torque and horsepower per pound than almost all of its competition yet still manages to come in at a much lower price point. It is constructed of fewer and fewer parts every year which makes it an engineering marvel since every other car on the road continues to add more and more components. You may not care for its styling or the fact that every buyer has a mustache and a baseball hat, but you can't dog the 'Vette!
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dave

14 years ago

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I suppose beauty is subjective then, I am not keen, I have admired the stingray for as long as I can remember, but for me the ultimate car is the ferrari spyder california GT250.
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Adam

14 years ago

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Ick. That thing is disgusting. Way too Italian for Chevy. Did you forget what actual Corvettes looked like in 1963?

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=1963+corvette+stingray+sport+coupe

http://www.soksa.com/assets/publicDocs/userFiles/icy/image/1963_Corvette_Stingray_SportCoupe.jpg

I'll take 3 please.
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Dave S.

14 years ago

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That's lovely, but I don't think you will find too many people to complain about the Corvette designs from the 60's.
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