For every Corvette owner of the early 1960s who regularly ran in sports car rallies, there were those who used their Corvette exclusively for their everyday, “bread-and-butter” transportation. The Corvette has always been well-known for delivering a certain kind of pleasure to each man’s driving that he wasn’t able to get anywhere else for the same level of monetary investment. Just as now, the true competitors to the Corvette were vastly more expensive. From early-on, they have been a machine that is an outstanding combination of performance and luxury that really belies its relatively low new-car price. The car was sold as a vehicle that would take the unpleasantness out of heavy rush hour traffic, just as it could transform an ordinary country road into a special winding ribbon that called out for serious motoring.

The 1961 model year brought Corvette a new look, courtesy of GM design chief, Bill Mitchell and his group. The growing list of standard equipment now included a tachometer, seatbelts, sunvisors, dual exhaust, carpet, electric clock, outside rearview mirror, windshield washers, courtesy light, temperature-controlled radiator fan, parking brake warning light and an aluminum radiator. The teeth were eliminated from the grille and headlamp bezels gave up chrome for body color. Most prominent of the changes, however, was a newly-contoured tail section, giving rise to the nickname “duck tail.” A precursor to the radical Sting Ray of 1963, it gave the public a preview of things to come.

Even with the mildest 283-cid V-8 engine with a Powerglide transmission in the Corvette proved to be a fast little combination, by any standards of the day. It would turn a 0- to 60-mph in a then-respectable 7.7-seconds. A fuel-injected four-speed car, like is being offered here, knocked another two seconds off of that time, making it one of the fastest “street racers” in history at that time.

Testers for the major car magazines of the era sang the praises of the 1961 model’s handling virtues, and almost no one could find any particular detriments with the platform. For, perhaps, the first time, the Corvette was recognized as one of the most roadable cars built anywhere in the world. Proof could be found in the running of the grueling 12 Hours of Sebring for 1961 when a near-stock 1961 Corvette finished eleventh overall against much more expensive and exotic prototype machinery.

This exciting 1961 fuel-injected Corvette is the beneficiary of a frame-off restoration, and the quality is demonstrated by its 2006 NCRS Top Flight Award. It is finished in Tuxedo Black with silver coves; the last year that the Code 440 two-tone paint option was available. Of the 10,939 Corvettes built in 1961, it is reported that 3,368 received the Code 440 paint scheme. Of these, 429 are shown to have left the factory in this black and silver combination. Having red interior really sets off the visual impact.

The 283-cid V-8 engine produces 315-hp and this indicates it is one of 1,462 similar cars which received the Code 354 version of the “fuelie.” There was also a Code 353 283-cid, 275-hp version available for the same option price of $484.20. This car also has the accessory removable hardtop, jack, associated hardware and spare.

In the popular 1960s television program “Route 66,” Todd Stiles and Buzz Murdock traveled that iconic U.S. highway in a duck-tail Corvette, seeking work, romance and adventure. Not surprisingly, Corvette sales took an upturn as soon as the show came on the air. Put yourself behind the wheel of this car and you can enjoy a reprise of 20th Century America.