The 1st production runs of the second generation C2 Chevrolet Corvette are some of the most highly sought after Corvettes out of the nearly 70 year production run.  Why?  Lets take a closer look at this 1960s  premium battery-operated example of the 1963 Corvette manufactured by the Ichida company of Japan.

The box for this New Corvette Sting Ray Sport Coupe advertises the following features:

1.  Headlamps OPEN

2. Mystery with STOP and GO action

3. TOOT a horn action

4. Powered by BATTERY DRIVEN MOTOR

The actions are not what makes this car so collectible, it is the split rear window design.  1963 was the only year of this design because production cost forced the designers to concede the style for profits.  At barely over 10,000 split windows delivered in this year the current surviving numbers are low driving the value of the remaining few (in mint condition) upwards of $200,000 in 2020.

Today this Battery Operated Corvette is highly collectible as it is a premium quality toy lovingly modeled after its real life uber-rare big brother.  We recomend buying a working model as this toy in parts only condition still commands a high price.

Variations:  Also made by Ichida in the 1960s was the extremely rare and therefore high-priced 001 Diamond Finger Corvette.  While not a split window, the similarities are there.  We wish we had a Diamond finger to share with you here but this link will have to do.

Special Note:  Did you know it was a DESIGN REQUIREMENT for all corvettes (from C1 on up) that the trunk could hold a standard fully loaded golf bag.  The fact this car was market directly to the men who wanted a show off car would likely want to show it off at the golf club parking lot.  This marketing strategy can be seen on the box cover showing a group of men playing golf behind the proud owner leaning back on his awesome new Coupe.