color images

November 19, 2024

Peter Brock, Designer Exemplar, and first look at the 2025 version of his iconic 1963 Sting Ray

By Jeff Daum, Ph.D., PPA[1]

Sixty-seven years ago, Peter Brock penned the sketch that Bill Mitchell[2] chose to become one of the most iconic cars: the split window 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. At the time, Peter was the youngest designer at General Motors. He would go on to be a renown visionary and prolific designer with accolades and records for a broad range of his designs including the Datsun 510 Coupe, Cobra Daytona Coupe, Shelby-DeTomaso P70 and Aerovault trailer. But my focus here is on Peter’s latest achievement, the 2025 Sting Ray Studio Concept car[3] revealed at the 2024 SEMA[4] show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

At first glance when the cover was drawn back on the 2025 Sting Ray Studio Concept car at SEMA, the body looked very similar to a well preserved 1963 Sting Ray even though it was described as a resto-mod. Peter had done something other resto-mod builders of the C2 Sting Ray had not. He retained the original body shape and design, staying away from radical changes such as widening the body, adding bulging fenders, etc. More importantly Peter added back into the 2025 Sting Ray subtle details and changes to bring it closer to what he had originally designed.

Peter shared with me the back story on how, and why, this came to fruition. He made a conscious decision to change as little as possible in the body to retain the original form since it was well established as an automotive design icon. In the five years it took to take its design to being a production car in 1963, GM was primarily focused on making money so there were compromises made on which details went into the final car. In this 2025 Sting Ray Studio Concept car Peter wanted to restore some of those important details.

Peter worked with Mike Staveski and his company, Resto Mod Vette to build the 2025 Sting Ray.  This is the second car that he did with Mike, but the first one that is designed fully to Peter’s specifications. Here are a few images of Peter at Mike’s shop making some of the modifications:

They began with a 1963 donor Sting Ray body. Mike decided on and sourced the modern drivetrain and chassis which included:

  • GM crate LS3 engine
  • Electronically raised and lower hood
  • Harrop fuel injection
  • Holley engine management
  • Dewitts radiator
  • 4L60e transmission
  • PSC push button shifter
  • Ididit steering column with Sparc Industries Wheel
  • Dakota Digital gauges (with Peter’s signature)
  • Vintage Air AC
  • Art Morrison custom chassis
  • Cerakote frame
  • C7 front suspension with AME IRS, Ridetech Coilovers
  • Wilwood electric brakes
  • Additional Corvette parts from Corvette Pacifica
  • Additional parts from Atech Motorsports
  • Dynamat sound proofing
  • Custom glass from AM Hot Rod Auto Glass
  • Douglass Interiors Leather, Linen & Sage
  • Forgeline 18 wheels
  • GM Hypersonic Gray paint

Peter designed and supervised the details he wanted to add back to the body. These included making all the vents and air scoops functional. Mitchell, at the time, wanted the nonfunctional vents because while it saved money by not making them real, it added perceived value to potential buyers as they viewed the car in the showroom.

[Note: clicking on an image in these mini galleries will bring it up to full size]

Another important change for Peter was to improve the interior visibility. Mitchell wanted a split rear window on the 1963 Sting Ray as homage to the Bugatti 57SC Atlantique, but that impacted the rearward visibility and Zora Arkus-Duntove[5] was really upset with Mitchell for mandating that. In Peter’s original sketch the glass was not split and went all the way down to the radius along the side. To improve this on the 2025 Sting Ray, Peter enlarged the area of each split window and eliminated the “B” pillar on the doors so that now the side windows are one continuous piece of glass. Together these changes result in better visibility from the inside of the Sting Ray and it feels more open. Complementing this, Peter used only the finest materials on the interior of the resto-mod. This is reflected in the new instrumentation, the top-grain leather on and around the dash, including around the air ducts. All that leather was hand stitched but resulted in a very high-end production finish.

Continuing with detail changes on this 2025 Sting Ray, two more can be seen when looking at it from the back. In addition to the enlarged split windows, Peter brought the fin all the way down to the midline of the body through and including the gas filler door. The fin is also slightly raised paying more homage to the Bugatti Atlantique. A nice detail is that the gas cap can now be placed into a holder inside of the gas filler door when removing it. At the front of the car the headlights have been changed from the flip up 1963 approach to built-in LED quad headlights with halos. Most of the original bright work on the body, like the bumpers, was downplayed and changed to black chrome encouraging one’s eyes to focus more on the overall form. Peter also put his race-type mirrors on the doors, which work well with the flow of the body.

At one point in our interview, Peter mused that this is based on a sixty-seven-year-old design, saying “how does something last that long and still evoke such admiration and desire from people that see the car.”  He went on to add “the impetus for the Sting Ray grew out of Mitchell going over to Italy and seeing all the streamlined cars and bringing back photographs of them for us to study. I do not think he knew whether we could design a car that would meet his expectations. But once he saw what we were turning out, his enthusiasm grew, and he kept coming back into the studio to see the progress we were making. We did not always agree on direction, for example, I wanted the nose lower and back end higher, but Mitchell was traditional and knew the drop away in the rear would sell, so that is what we went with.” With emotion, Peter added that he had a particularly good relationship with Mitchell, and that he was a great mentor. Tony Lapine and Larry Shinoda, veteran design specialists, took over the final version as the Sting Ray was getting ready to go into production. Peter had been moved to work with Harvey Earl.[6]  He added that it would have been super to have Tony and Larry around to work with him on this 2025 Sting Ray. Since that was not possible, he wanted to make sure it stayed true to their original efforts.

Peter said Mike has a super crew who worked on this 2025 Sting Ray. It came out so well and has been so successful that Peter and Mike have decided to do a series of these cars. Mike told me (JD) he has sold three of these already. This one is headed to Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction. Craig Jackson, CEO Barrett-Jackson, was at the SEMA reveal and was very impressed with the car and intimated it may be his feature car at the auction. Based on the level of enthusiasm and interest, Peter and Mike think they may do a dozen or two of these cars. Each will be different in terms of paint, interior and finish, but the overall design details will remain the same, so it becomes a limited production that follows the Studio Concept. Mike already has plans for a Z06 version that will follow this same approach. I mentioned to Peter that notably missing on this first 2025 Sting Ray were some safety features such as shoulder (three-point lap) belts and air bags. Peter said he expects more enhancements to make it into upcoming versions, and that the seat belts in this one will be changed before Scottsdale.

It almost seems heretical to talk about cost when discussing the sheer beauty, art, and evolution of the 2025 Sting Ray, but I know some readers will ask me if I do not. Mike told me he has priced these Studio Concept models starting at USD 495k. Of course, Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction will provide a real-world test of the market value of Peter’s 2025 Sting Ray.

Lest you think Peter, at 88 years old, is now resting on his laurels, he took me into his studio to show me his new car project. Of course, it is sleek with some neat aerodynamic features, and he is very excited about it. However, that is all I can share now, details are currently embargoed but stay tuned.

Thanks for visiting and reading. If you have a question, please feel free to ask below! 

[1] Primary sources for content were interviews with Peter Brock and Mike Staveski. Other sources included Peter’s book Corvette Sting Ray Genesis of an American Icon and Brock Racing Enterprises publications.

[2] Head of GM Design from 1958-1977

[3] A Studio Concept car was a term applied to a few special ‘one-offs’ made at GM Styling, after production was underway, for GM executives.

[4] SEMA is the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, and the show held annually, is the largest of its kind.

[5] Corvette Engineering 1953-1975

[6] In charge of GM Design from 1927-1958

December 2, 2020

Nearby Beauty

A positive ramification of Covid restrictions, is the opportunity to take time and explore one’s local flora and fauna.  We set out to hike a trail that is part of the Hoover Dam railroad line, built in 1931 to provide a means of getting concrete and supplies needed for construction of the dam.

The trail follows on the path of the original rail line, but the rails are no longer there. It provides gorgeous vistas looking down on Lake Mead and of the rock formations as you pass through five of the original rail tunnels through the rock.

This is one of my favorite images, as the colors reminded me of Monet’s Water Lilies painting.

Here is a short slideshow of the hike if you would like to see more: https://youtu.be/-EIc-_Y9cZE

August 4, 2020

Random Reflections

I took a break from doing a new product review and made a short video of several of my images from around the world, that captured reflections.

I hope you enjoy the video below:

February 14, 2017

High Drama

Sometimes we don’t need to look any further than outside one’s back door to experience the wonders of nature.  This series- High Drama– capture the amazing natural blaze of colors in the Nevada sky.

December 20, 2016

Fabulous flowers

Flowers are found almost everywhere.  Typically they add color, and often fragrance, that help them standout in our visual landscapes.

Frequently we just ‘breeze’ by them as we pass from here to there, and as a result miss the stunning nuances they are waiting to share.

Here is a sampling from my travels around the world:

Hope you enjoy!  Please feel free to share your thoughts.

 

November 6, 2016

The beauty of sunsets…

Sunsets tend to have a transformational power.

Not only do they bring a fleeting, but dramatic change to the natural beauty of the land, sea and air, but they have the ability to provide an image to the mind’s eye that often takes your breath away.

Whether the less frequently seen ‘green flash’ as in these images

 

Or the spectacular sunsets seen around the world. [Slideshow below might take a few seconds to load]

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Always worth watching and appreciating- much like stopping to enjoy the fragrance of a rose.  Unique, temporary and often uplifting.

 

October 22, 2016

Image vs equipment and software

When I started in professional photography my equipment consisted of Nikon Fs (F, F3, Photomic, etc.).

Here is a comparison of my first professional camera in the center, with my first digital with a Leica lens on the right, and my latest digital Nikon on the left.

untitled-1

Evolution (or Nikon on steroids).

I tend to add new equipment when I feel the technology offers a significant improvement.  For example, the small Leica was my initial move into the world of digital.  It was considerably smaller than my film cameras, and offered the ability to immediately confirm I captured what I wanted.  It also allowed me to learn how to shoot in digital since, in my experience, it required somewhat different skills than film cameras.  Framing and composition were still the same, but how digital captured light has subtle but important differences to my eye as compared to film. [ Much like digital audio equipment sounds different when compared to tube based equipment. ]

While I still occasionally shoot with negative professional film using my older Nikon equipment, nearly all of my images today are shot with my full frame Nikon digital cameras.

From my earliest days as a photographer, my approach was to capture what interested me just exactly as I saw it in my ‘mind’s eye,’ so to speak.

Initially all of my work was done on black and white professional negative film, that I developed in my lab.  Developing of film was done by the ‘book’ without enhancing the image.  Slowly I experimented with color negative film but my concern was that it was too easy to get an interesting picture simply because of the colors as compared to black and white.  For example, this shot of spices from India is really only interesting to me because of the colors as compared to shooting it in black and white.

This approach still reflects my technique today, except I normally only shoot with an eye to the colors and how they interact with the composition.

Machu Picchu

And certainly, many images rely totally on color for dramatic impact:

Sunset in Egypt
Yangtze River China

I trust my ability to see and capture what I want without coming back and spending time using readily available software (today’s equivalent of chemicals in the lab and development times when I started) to modify the image.  I don’t think there is anything wrong enhancing images using post shooting software, but believe it reflects more of a philosophical difference.  I consider myself a ‘naturalist’ photographer verses an artist/photographer producing a final photograph with software.

When you look at photographs do you wonder if it is reflective of reality or enhanced?  Does it matter to your enjoyment of the photograph?  Look forward to hearing from you!  Please feel free to comment below.

October 19, 2016

Reflecting on reflections

Reflections are often fleeting, but almost always cause us to stop and try to take in the moment.  They tend to add a visual complexity to something that otherwise might have escaped our notice.