Guest post by Michael Garland of Carlisle Events
Pennsylvania -- In 2013, Corvettes at Carlisle is putting a heavy emphasis on the 50th anniversary of the 1963 production line of cars. In doing so, sixty-three ‘63s will be on display as part of the Aug. 23-25 weekend at the Carlisle Fairgrounds.
Along with this particular ’63 display, the 2013 Chip’s Choice also will feature some of the best 1963 Corvettes.
The 1963 Corvette Rondine
A one-of-a-kind Corvette is coming to the Chip’s Choice display. This car, a Corvette Rondine concept, was built for the Paris Auto Show and since its birth until at least 2008, was on display at the Pininfarina Museum in Italy. At that point, the car was sold at the famed Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale (Arizona) auto auction.
What really makes this car special is that it is the ONLY steel-bodied Corvette ever created. In addition, the car is based on the '63 Corvette chassis and sports a 327cid/360-hp V8 under the hood.
The 1963 Asteroid Corvette
Joining the Corvette Rondine will be the Asteroid Corvette. This '63 was delivered straight to the King of Custom cars -- George Barris of Barris Kustoms. The new C2 Corvette was already a fresh redesign from Chevrolet and Barris made a radical transformation and redesigned the car with tweaks to its nose cone, headlights, grille, headers and more.
Barris also removed the split window, filled in the rear tail panel and opened up the rear wheel wells to accommodate big wheels. The paint job was out of this world and was a heavy metallic copper finish that would blind you in the sunlight.
New to this year's Corvette at Carlisle in Pennsylvania will be a showcase of the new 2014 Corvette Stingray. With Corvette engineers onsite, enthusiasts will be able to get an up-close look at the C7, plus talk directly with the designers of this machine. Walk-around sessions will focus specifically on the C7, which will be one of the pack-leading cars in the Downtown Carlisle Corvette Parade and Street Party.
The weekend is so much more than just the aforementioned cars and downtown parade. There will be seminars, demo rides, guests, installations of aftermarket Corvette accessories and more.
For more details and the event map, visit www.CarlisleEvents.com.
Although I have been a Rondine fan for a long time, I do not recall ever seeing the Asteroid before! The display at Carlisle should be a lot of fun.