One User Has Spent Millions Buying 26 Split-Window Corvettes on BaT

Do you like 1963 Split Window Corvettes? Of course. Who doesn't? But maybe not quite as much as Bring a Trailer user "DDSEOE", who has plunked down $5.26M on 26 different 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Coupes on the auction platform since 2023. In other words, this buyer doesn't like Split Windows. They love 'em. The latest acquisition happened this week, and if you need any further evidence that this person is putting the heart before the head, the sale price of $352,000 for the example seen here was 60 percent over the #1-condition value for the model. (Such #1-condition, or Concours, cars are considered virtually flawless and representative of the best examples in the world.)

The car itself has a thoroughly documented restoration, a matching engine, a four-speed manual, and an overall clean presentation. But it's worth adding some Corvette context here. The 1963 model year was, of course, the first for the second-generation (C2, 1963-67) Corvette, as well as the only year for the famous split rear window. That treatment looks great but also harms rear visibility-a classic tale of the friction between styling departments and engineering departments.

Being a one-year-only feature makes it relatively rare in Corvette circles, but this was still a mass-produced product from a giant corporation. Chevrolet built 21,513 Corvettes for 1963, divided almost evenly between coupe and convertible. This one's 327-cubic-inch, 300-hp L75 engine represents the second-lowest output available in the 1963 Corvette, and valuable options like power windows, factory air conditioning, and knock-off wheels were not fitted to it. A $352,000 price for it, then, is beyond steep. The maximum average value for a Split Window with this powertrain in the Hagerty Price Guide, according to our data, is $217,000.

As for DDSEOE's little Sting Ray shopping spree, the user has been buying lots on BaT since 2021 and has been the top bidder on 92 of the site's auctions in that time. The majority of them are vintage Corvettes, but there have been a few Thunderbirds, some Packards and other prewar cars, a handful of Hummers, and a few Cadillac-themed sofas in there as well. Of the 26(!) different Split Windows he's bought, there have been a few 327/360-hp fuel-injected cars as well as several 327/340-hp L76 cars, but nothing super-rare like a Z06.

It isn't clear whether DDSEOE is opening a museum, orflipping cars to overseas buyers, or simply building a big collection for personal enjoyment. What is clear is there is cash to spend and a clear sense of taste.