Although on the fifth year of its styling cycle, the 1967 Corvette continued to exploit the classic lines that made it among the most beautiful cars in the world. And with the new combination of big-block 427, multiple carburetion, and a disposition that easily veered between sweet and sore, Chevrolet created an instant classic.

All 427 Corvettes were easily identified by a special “Stinger” hood with contrasting paint in white, black, red, or teal. Among the five big-blocks, two featured three two-barrel carburetors, but what set apart the top-dog 435-horsepower L71 from its lesser 400-horse L68 brethren was four-bolt main bearing caps, special heads with mechanical lifters, more radical camshaft, higher compression ratio (a 0.75 bump up to 11:1), and mandatory close-ratio 4-speed with 3.55 gears and Positraction. For $368 more, a buyer could add L89 aluminum heads.

The pull for the L71 was so great that 3,754 were built – within 100 units of the decidedly more pedestrian 390-horse L36 427 and over 1,600 more than the L68. Just goes to show that enthusiasts knew a good thing when they saw it.

Story by Diego Rosenberg