Here’s a rare 1963 General Motors film showcasing the design and development of the all-new Corvette Sting Ray, including a visit with Mr. Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov.

Thanks to the bountiful King Rose Archives, here’s an exceptionally clean, bright copy of a famous but hard-to-find General Motors film, Biography of a Sports Car, originally produced back in 1963 to showcase the development of the brand new Corvette Sting Ray. At 19 minutes, this film-to-video is a little long for the web, perhaps, but the content makes it more than worth the time.

Indeed, there’s a ton of wonderful stuff here for your illumination, including:

+   The construction of a prototype fiberglass coupe body with internal steel birdcage.

+   Fabrication of the experimental four-wheel independent Sting Ray chassis and integration with the body assembly.

+   Priceless in-period views of the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan and the GM Proving Ground in nearby Milford, Michigan.

+   A final segment featuring the father of the Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov (note the distinctive accent) speaking with star Corvette road racers Dr. Dick Thompson and Dave MacDonald, and footage of the two drivers on the track with a Sting Ray convertible and coupe.

And much, much more, as they say. Here’s an excellent look inside the history of the Chevrolet Corvette, a major engineering exercise for General Motors. Video follows.