While under construction, the car was officially the XP-87, or was simply referred to as "Mitchell's racer". No other name was apparently applied until Mitchell wanted to start racing the car, and was prevented from calling it a Corvette. An avid deep-sea fisherman, Mitchell chose the name of the stingray sea ray, whose streamlined body and undulating movements he admired. It is generally accepted that Mitchell used the single-word name "Stingray". This was reflected in the original badging used on the car.