“Unicorn” seldom so aptly describes a collectible automobile, but that’s exactly the metaphor to use when referring to this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette. Yes, it has the extremely covetable split-window, a feature was only offered for that model year (until the C8-gen Corvette ZR1 debuted in 2024). A 1963 Corvette with a spine bisecting its rear window—an element inspired by the 1930s-era Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic—is immediately made more valuable, given the short timespan in which the Corvette was offered with a split-window.
But this particular ‘Vette is a one-off “Studio Concept,” designed and owned by Peter Brock, who, as a 21-year-old GM designer, penned the sketch that Bill Mitchell, GM’s then-VP of Design, selected as the foundation for the original Stingray, which was the second-generation Corvette launched in 1963. That production vehicle naturally evolved beyond what Brock put to paper, but his one-off vehicle pictured here is his original concept incarnate and restomodded.
The original Corvette’s stylish but purely ornamental scoops, vents and even the hood-mounted “cookie tin” grates now deliver improved ventilation for the passenger compartment and heat dissipation for the engine—a 6.2-liter LT4 V8 equipped with forged internals, Mast Motorsports Black Label heads, a BTR camshaft, and an LT supercharger topped with Peter Brock’s own intake cover. The souped-up power unit sends 725 horses through a Tremec TKX five-speed manual transmission.
Side and rearward visibility are vastly improved thanks to deleted vent windows and clean, unobstructed full-pane side windows. In the rear, the famed split-window was enlarged, fitted with flush-mounted glass, unburdened of its factory trim, and given a larger spine. Most brightwork was eliminated or replaced by black chrome, while a Ferrari Azzurro California Blue exterior finish was personally selected by Brock for its visually lowering properties.
The Studio Concept’s passenger compartment is lined throughout with Dynamat sound- and heat-deadening material and trimmed in rich Douglas leather upholstery over Sparco bucket seats. The dash features Dakota Digital gauges signed by Brock, an Ididit tilt steering column and a Vintage Air system climate-control system.
Mecum is offering this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Studio Concept Split Window Coupe on Friday, January 16 at its Kissimmee 2026 auction, where Driving estimates it could fetch upwards of $360,000. In Brock’s words, “Whoever ends up with this car, it is a personal interpretation of what it should have been.”
