The first Chevrolet Corvette was introduced to the world in 1953. Chevy had made a name for itself by producing reliable and affordable automobiles, and their Corvette model was an attempt to give car lovers a faster, sleeker, more attractive sports car for the road. In 1963, Chevy really went all out with their Sting Ray model, and 1967’s Sting Ray Corvette is considered the best of the lot.

There’s some confusion about Chevy’s Corvette line. Some sports car enthusiasts still can’t figure out what qualifies as a Sting Ray, or a Stingray, which is a slightly later vintage.

Furthermore, there is debate whether or not all Corvettes could carry either name. Simply put, the Sting Ray was a model of Corvette available from 1963 until 1967, and the Stingray Corvette was in production from 1969 until 1976. The Sting Ray and Stingray are different generation cars (C2 and C3). Popular consensus says that every other Corvette is just that – a Corvette.

The 1967 Sting Ray was special for a few reasons, none the least of which being the fact that it was the last year Chevy produced a Sting Ray model of their Corvette. This year’s Sting Ray was considered the last of the C2 generation model. Its features were far above and beyond what any Corvette lover could have imagined, and the model has stood the test of time.

The quintessential 1967 Sting Ray was a 2-door, 2-seater coupe with a convertible top, large spoke wheels, a chrome underlay and a red body. The fender vents were completely restyled from all previous C2 and C1 versions, and the actual appearance of the sports car looked more similar to the stingray fish found in oceans and large rivers.

Another extremely popular feature of the 1967 Sting Ray Corvette was its interior. While a lot of expensive cars today will either opt for synthetic materials or simply go the safe route with a muted color interior, Chevy decided that their Sting Ray should be red, black and chrome through and through, and the red leather interior added another element of originality.

Of course, a Corvette wouldn’t be a Corvette without a powerhouse engine to take it around. The 1967 Chevy had a powerful stock engine putting out nearly 400 horsepower, but it was the optional V8 pushing 435 horsepower and a triple-Holley-two-barrel carburetor that made it legendary. At the time, this was the most powerful engine on the road.

The transmission was also a solid feature. Although the transmissions in Corvettes were relatively the same, manual, a lot of today’s cars employ a hybrid automatic system or a straight automatic system that takes the power controls out of the driver’s hands. The 1967 Sting ray gave drivers the option of burning out for a quarter if they chose to do so.

Chevy’s most popular version of the 1967 Sting Ray was the L88 model, considered to be the closest thing to a street-legal racecar in operation. They’re the rarest of the year, and most Sting Rays on the road today are basic versions, but any 1967 in mint condition is worth around 100k, with the more powerful models worth even more.