1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine

Commissioned by Chevrolet as a design study for the 1963 Paris Auto Show, the Rondine’s steel body panels were the work of the American designer Tom Tjaarda while in the employ of the Italian carrozzeria Pininfarina. It is a 1963 Corvette chassis, engine and standard interior but with a more European influenced coachwork. I remember first seeing it on the grass at Pebble Beach when Pininfarina brought it over for exhibition and then again when it sold at auction in 2008 for @$1.8M US. I knew I disliked the color, the wheels and wanted to visually change a few things in regard to the tail and fender lofting itself. Thus my digital version of it today.

And for the purists, the second image is what the Rondine would have looked like (as above mods) but with outside spoked Borrani wheels and period sized correct profile tires.