Return Of The Split Window Corvette

If there’s one name in the Corvette’s close to 60 year run (and going..) that stands above all else it is this: Stingray. The 1963 design of the Corvette’s first ever coupe model was that of a muscle car-ish brute of a sports car that at one time or another has been at the very top of any Corvette fan’s must have list. And since this was America’s sports car intended to be head and shoulders above regular muscle cars it needed a bit more flair than just taut, curvy goodness… it needed a split rear window.

The split rear window was a very dramatic design element that was actually made for only one year, it was abandoned the following year because it was a bit hard to see out of. At least it looked great. The Stingray’s signature styling cue had developed such cachet over the years that GM intends to bring it back as part of its next gen Corvette due in 2012.

Besides featuring a split window, the C7 Vette’s overall design will be slightly more retro than previous generations, according to GM’s design chief Ed Wellburn. Retro done right, a la 2010 Camaro, if you will. While a recent Corvette concept (below) incorporated a split window, the one in the latest Transformers movie, Wellburn is quick to stress that the design of that concept is way over the top and is not at all indicative of the next Vette.

Assuming that GM gets it right, this could be one of the most desirable Corvettes in years. A racing pedigree, a front engine, RWD, carbon fiber bad boy that can compete with the best from Europe (ZR1), and now a design that can potentially shake off the blandness thats been going on for far too long. Fans, collectors… save your pennies.