Not only was the 1965 Sting Ray the middle of the second generation Corvette, but it was the end of the line for the Rochester Fuel Injection option and the beginning of a 10-year run of the Mark IV big-block. Raw power would never be this inexpensive.

Duntov's mission for the Corvette customers was to give them the option of a mild-mannered car or a rip-snorking, semi-racing machine. Since 1957, the Fuel Injection option was the hot setup for maximum performance. By combining the right parts with the small block engine, the Corvette could be a formidable sports car. However, living with the Fuelie wasn't always easy. Many owners actually replaced the Rochester setup in favor of a four-barrel! 1965 was unique because both the Fuel Injection setup and the 396 big block were available. Unfortunately for the Fuelie, cubic inches were cheaper than sophistication. The L-84 Fuel Injection option cost $538, while the L78 396 big block cost only $292. Plus, the 396 cranked out 50 more horses! The question was light weight and nimble, or brute power.

The other big performance leap was standard, four-wheel disc brakes. Corvette's drum brakes had been a sore spot for years. In the '50s and '60s, only exotic European sports cars had disc brakes. The big, 11.75-inch rotors and four-piston calipers were almost too much. Braking was like no other car in America. A very noisy option in 1965 was the "off-road" side pipes. The $37.70 option sounded great on 2,468 cars.

The body received minor changes. Vertical vents on the front fenders were functional and the fake hood vents were removed. The horizontal grille bars were now black. The interior had new seats, door panels, and black, flat-face gauges. Base price of the 1965 Corvette was $4,321, and total production was 23,562 units.

The 1965 Corvette had more options than ever and Chevrolet was selling every Corvette it could make. With the release of the Mark IV 396, Corvettes were just entering into a new level of performance.

Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 25 - 1965 396 Corvette - "Simply Raw Power!"

In the mid 1950s, Detroit was hot with racing fever and NASCAR racing was uniquely "American." Ford and Chrysler completely disregarded the AMA ban of factory supported racing. GM, on the other hand, "officially" observed the ban and was "not in racing."

The 1962 NASCAR "427 Mystery Motor" was a 500 plus horsepower experimental engine design that would make its way into the Corvette by 1965. Zora Arkus-Duntov was not all together happy with this idea. Duntov's vision for the Corvette was for it to be a balanced sports car. Adding 150 pounds to the front of the car seemed like a bad move to him. The upside was gobs of cheap, raw power. The new "big-block" was a genuine stump puller! Zora didn't like it, but Corvette customers sure did.

The Mark IV 396 Corvette hit the streets in April of 1965, and no one was ready for the personality change. The high-revving big- block Sting Ray was now a street monster!

Officially known as the L78, the new 396 engine cranked out 425 horsepower at 6400 rpm with 415 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. Best of all, the L78 option was only $292.70, compared to $538 for the Fuel Injected 327. The larger engine required extra hood clearance, so a beautiful hood dome was designed with functional cooling vents.

Everything was heavy-duty with the 396; the K66 ignition, a larger fan and radiator, a close-ratio M20 four-speed gearbox, and the G81 Positraction differential were all mandatory. Stiffer springs and a larger stabilizer bar held up the front end, while beefed up U-joints kept the half-shafts together. With the new optional side pipes, the 396 sounded like a roaring bear.

Sales were off for 1965, with 8,186 units sold compared to 8,304 in 1964. But 2157 (26.3 percent) of the cars were ordered with the 396. Corvette lovers obviously liked the big block. The 396 would grow to a 427 in 1966 and a 454 in 1970-1/2. Brute force was taking over! Corvette.

Here's the story:
lIlustrated Corvette Series No. 26 - 1965 Mako Shark II - "Simply Stunning"

Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda scored big in the automotive world with the 1965 Mako Shark II Show Car. It was a total original, nothing was like it, and it just screamed, CORVETTE !

Bill Mitchell started working on the next generation Corvette the day production on the 1963 Corvette started. He knew that things change quickly in automotive styling , so it was critical that he go way outside the envelope. The first step was to build a functional, single seat, open-wheeled car that would push everything to the extreme. The "X-15", named after the experimental U.S. Air Force jet, was never shown to the public and was later sent to the crusher.

Shinoda and crew had to make a real car now. The styling elements of the hood bulge and the side exhausts were taken directly from the X-15 exercise. Back tracking from the extreme, Mitchell set the guidelines.

He wanted the following; "a narrow, slim, center section and coupe body, a tapered tail, an all-of-a-piece blending of the upper and lower portions of the body through the center (avoiding the look of a roof added to a body), and prominent wheels with their protective fenders distinctly separate from the main body, yet grafted organically to it."

The full-size mock-up just blew everyone away. Built on a production Corvette chassis, the Mako Shark also had a mocked- up interior.

The Mako Shark II had an interesting blend of soft curves and sharp break-lines. The tucked in center section, called the "coke-bottle" gave the center of the car a taut, trim look, while the curved fender lines made the car look like it had been working- out. The low, pointed nose made a bold statement while the tapered and pointed tail gave the car a high-speed, wind-swept look.

Since the Mako Shark II was a show-car, it had plenty of gimmicks and was overdone here and there. Some of the grille vents and other details were a little fussy. However, compared with other cars in 1965, the Mako Shark was a vision of the future.

When the car was shown at the New York International Auto Show in April 1965, the press and the public went wild. It was called beautiful, embellished, convoluted, aerodynamic, perfect, and many other things. And this was only the mock-up. On October 5, 1965 the fully functional Mako Shark II arrived. Oh WOW!