Chief Engineer Zora Arkus Duntov set the future path for Corvette as early as 1955, when he first began developing the new 265-cid small-block V-8 engine for racing. Higher compression ratios, multiple carburetors and fuel injection, heavy-duty components and improved breathing all benefited from Duntov’s tireless work. In 1958 he added heavy-duty suspension and high performance braking packages, and by the early 1960s the Corvette was in a class of its own. It got a further boost in 1962 when displacement increased to 327-cid.

If all-out competition in SCCA B Production racing was your goal in 1962, you checked off all the options that went into producing this sensational black Chevrolet Corvette Fuelie with the very rare RPO 687 “Big Brake” option. This option cost $333.60 in 1962 on an automobile that carried a base price of $4,038.

This beautifully restored example is one of only 246 Corvettes produced in 1962 with the RPO 687 heavy-duty brakes and steering package that included special front and rear shock absorbers, air scoops to feed cool air to the brakes, metallic brake linings, special finned drums with internal cooling fans and a quick steering adapter and complemented with a four-speed manual transmission, radio and auxiliary hardtop. The drivetrain is reported to be correct for this car.

If you ordered RPO 687 in 1962; it also required RPOs 675 and 582 to be included. Posi-traction rear end with 4.11:1 gearing represents the RPO 675 qualification, while RPO 582 is reserved for the also rare 327-cid, 360-hp V-8 engine with Rochester fuel injection. Of the 14,531 Corvettes built in 1962, only 1,918 left the factory with this powerplant. Capable of a reliable 6,500-rpm, the 327 combines 11.25:1 compression, the famous Duntov solid lifter cam and high-speed valve train; all adding up to the most potent Corvette in the 1962 line-up with this specific car being an excellent and worthy example of the marque.