Is the Corvette C3 always a Stingray?
The name Stingray often comes up when talking about Corvettes, and in many discussions, it is argued which Corvettes are "real" Stingrays, and which were not.
To be clear, Stingray is just an additional name that was used for the entire car series and does not define any features or customization package.
As for Corvettes, the Stingray history begins when all new 1963 C2 Corvettes received the additional name Sting Ray (two words) and this remained throughout the C2 generation. When the C3 generation started in 1968, the redesigned Corvette no longer had the Sting Ray emblem, but this additional name was still used in 1968 sales brochures.
In 1969, the emblem made a return to Corvettes, this time as Stingray (one word), and remained until 1976. After that, the Stingray name only returned with the C7 generation of the Corvette.
Corvettes originally got the Stingray name from the 1959 Stingray Racer concept car, which greatly influenced the C2 generation of Corvettes.
From Chevrolet's advertising point of view, 1968 had the additional name Sting Ray, although the emblems were not on the car itself. 1969 - 1976 Corvettes were called Stingrays both in advertisements and on car emblems, but of course, everyone can decide what to call their car. :)
The C3 generation of Corvette is also called Shark or Shark-body. The Mako Shark II concept influenced the design of the C3 generation, from which the name has come to refer to the 1968 to 1982 Corvettes.
Corvettes from 1968-1972 are also called chrome bumpers because they were the last models with chrome bumpers front and rear.
In 1973, the front bumper was changed to body-colored polyurethane due to federal law, and later with the 1974 model year, the rear bumper was also changed to a rubber bumper.
