The late Paul Frère was a racing driver and respected journalist from Belgium. He participated in eleven World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, and most famously won the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Ferrari with fellow Belgian and teammate Olivier Gendebien. After retiring from active racing in 1960, he worked as an automotive journalist based in Europe and was mainly recognized on these shores as the European Editor for Road & Track magazine.

In 1964, Mr. Frere put a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette through its paces for the German magazine, Auto, Motor und Sport. Among his conclusions, Paul Frere noted; ”The driving characteristics of the Sting Ray are by all means comparable with the best European sports cars. The suspension is soft, but well adjusted, which gives you a high degree of driving comfort and a feeling of safety at high speeds on streets which are not particularly smooth…the steering has to be called exemplary.”

The Corvette also got high marks for its shifting capabilities; Mr. Frere went on “The shifting itself is an actual pleasure with the short, precise and smooth lever. All gears are all foolproof synchronized and the shifting process takes place as fast as you can move the lever from one position to the other.” Of all the overall sports car capabilities demonstrated by the 1964 Corvette, Frere concluded the Sting Ray “is not second to any one of the best European sports cars…it can compete with them in price, even in Europe. If people doubted whether or not the large American companies knew how to build a real sports car or whether or not they were interested in building one, they all know differently now.”

Finished in code 923 Riverside Red with a black soft-top and black interior, this C2 series 1964 Corvette Convertible runs the 327-cid, 300-hp V-8, and is matched up with the four-speed manual transmission. The 1964 Corvettes were quite similar to the new-for-1963 style and engineering; this example is eye-catching with the optional cast aluminum wheels with knock-offs, tastefully sized whitewall tires, an AM/FM radio, rotating covered headlights, removable and optional hardtop and a body-colored hatch that covers the well that the convertible top is stowed in.

The promise of the Corvette package had solidly taken shape, and it was gratifying that this promise was now being delivered and recognized.