by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 24, 1961 – The final design of the all-new
1963 Corvette Sting Ray is approved by management.

Dateline December 2015: A total design change for any automobile is a big deal. Millions of dollars are committed to a design that won’t be proven “successful” until almost a year after the new car is released. Designs are looked at, reviewed, challenged, and scrutinized, until the day arrives then its decision time.

So the Christmas Eve present for Bill Mitchell, Larry Shinoda, Zora Duntov and the rest of the Corvette team, was the approval for production of the new design as the new 1963 Corvette. Actual production wouldn’t start until September 1962, leaving a little more than 8-1/2 months to get everything completed and groomed for mass production. What a mad dash it must have been, in an era when there were no computers and everything was managed on paper!