C8 Corvette almost had split rear window

Designers thought all of the split designs looked 'forced,' however.

Designers working on the 2020 Corvette apparently wanted a split rear window, though the detail was ultimately rejected in favor of a traditional single pane.

The 1963 'Vette is celebrated among some enthusiasts for its distinctive split window. C2 designer Bill Mitchell decided to cleave the glass along the 'spine' of the car to further evoke the stingray aesthetic. The detail was quickly dropped for the next model year over visibility concerns, however.

In the modern era of backup monitors and camera mirrors, the visibility issue is obviously less of a problem. Speaking to Muscle Cars and Trucks, Chevrolet Performance exterior design director Tom Peters suggests a split window was thoroughly explored by the team working on the C8 generation, but they could not make it work.

"it was too literal," he said. "However way we did it, it came across as forced."

The team still wanted to represent the '63 split-window theme in a modern way, resulting in a unique rear window shape that better meshes with the mid-engine Corvette's overall design language.

"We tried to emulate the theme in the rear, and if you look, you can see a theme come through the roof," Peters added. "The glass aims and breaks subtly, and that lines up with the top of the motor. And that lines up with the Stingray emblem."

Due to arrive in the fourth quarter of the year, the 2020 redesign is particularly important in revitalizing Corvette sales as the market continues to evolve.