For the third year of the second generation Corvette, the 1965 Corvette Sting Ray had some more styling changes that were very subtle but came on strong in the performance department with an all-new braking system and larger powerplants.
The 1965 Corvette Sting Ray showcase midway through the year its new monster "Big-Block 396” cubic inch engine making 425 horse with 11:1 compression, impact-extruded alloy pistons, solid lifters, a bigger carburetor, double-snorkel air cleaner, and named the Mark IV Engine. Chevrolet introduced this engine for the first time in any car, in the production 1965 Corvette.
That Mark IV engine attracted Corvette enthusiasts to their local Chevrolet dealerships in packs and the 396 equipped 1965 Corvette ran a quarter mile in around 14 seconds at 104 miles per hour and could now run a top speed of nearly 140 mph.
Other engines for the 1965 Corvette included the 327-cubic-inch V8 rated at 250 horse as standard, a 300-horse version, a new 350-horse L79 small block engine, the 365-horse engine and the 375-horse Ramjet Fuel Injection engine.
The 1965 Corvette still had the 3-Speed manual transmission as standard, but you could get the Powerglide automatic or specify a 4-Speed manual transmission with all having a floor-mounted shifter in the console.
There was a huge list of options on the 1965 Corvette like 4-wheel disc brakes with a 4-piston design and two-piece calipers\cooling fin rotors, a side exhaust system, a telescopic steering wheel, cast aluminum wheels with wide 6-inch rims and genuine knock-off type hubs, Soft-Ray tinted glass, back-up lights and non-glare inside rear-view mirror, 4-Season air conditioning, leather seat upholstery, wood-rimmed steering wheel, electric windows, AM/FM push button radio with remote control power antenna, a removable hard top, and a 36-gallon fuel tank.
The 1965 Corvette hood is one of the most notable differences of the model year as it had none of the original hood scoops that were on the 1963 or 1964 model.
The interior of the car received minor design changes such as the instrument displays were redesigned to include flat black faces and painted radio bezels and the seats were redesigned to be slightly larger and more supportive.
The 1965 Sting Ray sold a total of 23,564 units sold, again making 1965 the most successful sales year for the Corvette yet.
