First Time Lucky?

David Van Haaren had never owned a classic car before. Ending up with this ’63 Corvette coupe suggests luck, judgment and above all, great taste…

- Nigel Boothman

It’s the colour – that’s what most people seem to remark on. It’s called Saddle Tan and on a less glamorous car you might dismiss it as beige, but there’s quite a lot of metallic sparkle in there that brings it closer to bronze. It’s an unusual sight on any sports or GT car of the period; red and silver account for most ’63 Corvettes and likewise for many of the Astons, Jaguars and Ferraris around at the same time. But if you’ve ever seen Steve McQueen’s Ferrari 250 Lusso in that lovely chestnut colour called Marrone Metallizzato you’ll know how good some of the more subtle shades can look. The same is true here.

David van Haaren did indeed choose this car for the colour, but it was one of many points in a list of good reasons to buy it. This car’s Californian second owner acquired it in the Seventies and by 1981 had put it into garage storage, where it remained with no use at all until 2011. By then, the gentleman had passed away and his son put the car up for sale. As a highly original 1963 split-window coupe, the most collectible hard-roof Corvette of them all, something of a scrum developed.

The victorious buyer took it back to San Diego and over the space of two years gave the car a sympathetic, but thorough restoration. He ran it for a short while and then put the car up for sale, at which point it was seen by a friend of David’s, who regarded it as too good to miss. This friend bought the car and imported it to the UK.