What unique rear window design did the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray have?

The 1963 Corvette Sting Ray had a split rear window. The center body pillar divided the coupe’s rear glass into two separate panes, creating one of the most recognizable details in Corvette history.

The feature appeared only during the 1963 model year, the debut year of the second-generation Corvette, or C2. The new Sting Ray was the first production Corvette offered as a coupe, and its fastback shape, hidden headlights, and divided rear glass gave it a dramatic departure from the rounded C1.

Designer Bill Mitchell favored the split window as a strong styling statement, reportedly drawing inspiration from earlier sports-car designs. Chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov disliked it because the central bar obstructed rearward visibility. Chevrolet replaced it with a single-piece rear window for 1964, making the 1963 coupe especially collectible.

A common mix-up is confusing the split window with later Corvette roof designs. T-tops arrived on later generations, while “targa” describes a removable roof-panel style rather than the rear glass. The split window was a fixed rear-window design unique to the 1963 C2 coupe.