Category: Corvette Prototypes

The History of Mid-Engine Corvettes, 1960 to C8: Part 3

Published on by Scott

The 1964 AWD CERV II – Duntov’s planned Ford GT40-Killer and Le Mans Champion.Dateline: 11.23.17 – For decades the topic of a mid-engine Corvette was simply “pie in the sky.” It was a fanciful piece of Corvette lore going back to the early days when Zora Arkus-Duntov was driving the Corvette brand. Every so many years, the topic would resurface, so when I heard it again for the umpteenth time, just after the C7 arrived, I said, “Oh, sure…”  But, it’s going to happen, finally! The mid-engine C8 Corvette will make its grand debut at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit as a 2019 model.
In the interest of explaining how we got to where we are with the whole, long, mid-engine Corvette story, lets buckle into the Corvette Report Time Machine, set the dials (yes, we still use “dials” here at Corvette Report) and go back to 1963/1964 when that wiley, silver-haired Russian fox, Zora Arkus-Duntov tried once again, to build a “Corvette” to race at Le Mans.  Indulge me while I bench race a little here, Continue reading “

The History of Mid-Engine Corvettes, 1960 to C8: Part 3″ →

All-electric Corvette claims new speed record of 186.8

Published on by Scott

GXE

by James Vincent for The Verge

GXE is a prototype created by small automotive company Genovation, and uses state-of-the-art electric motors

Dateline 3.29.16: A new world record for the fastest street legal all-electric car has been awarded to the Genovation GXE, a heavily-modified 2006 Z06 Corvette which hit a top speed of 186.8 mph at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida last month. Continue reading “

All-electric Corvette claims new speed record of 186.8″ →

1991 ZR-2 454 Big-Block, “Big Doggie” Experimental Corvette

Published on by Scott

1991-big-doggie-corvette

by K. Scott Teeters, written for Vette Magazine as republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting, Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

Dateline 01.23.16: There must have been something in the office water cooler in the late ’80s that inspired engineers to want to put seriously big engines back into Corvettes. Scott Leon was a project coordinator at the GM Proving Ground in Arizona. And although the Corvette was being hailed as “The Best Vette Yet!,” hammering the competition in the SCCA Showroom Stock series, and had won several magazine new car top speed competitions and was crowned “The Fastest Car In America!,” there were some that longed for the days of big-block horsepower and torque. So, Scott Leon cooked up a plan. Continue reading “

1991 ZR-2 454 Big-Block, “Big Doggie” Experimental Corvette” →

1990 ASC ZR-1 Corvette Spyder Show Car

Published on by Scott

1-1990-asc-spyder-corvette-illustration

by K. Scott Teeters, Written for Vette Magazine as republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

Dateline 01.22.16: Corvette product planners spend a lot of time playing “What if?” But at least 80 percent or more of what they come up with never goes into production. Continue reading “

1990 ASC ZR-1 Corvette Spyder Show Car” →

1992 Falconer All-Aluminum V-12 Experimental ZR-12 Corvette

Published on by Scott

1992-falconer-corvette-illustration

by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette Magazine and republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting, Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

Dateline 1.22.15: When the Dodge Viper debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January 1989, NO ONE knew what hit them! The Viper was new and fresh, yet the connection to the Shelby Cobra was obvious. Advanced orders were flooding in! You just know that the Corvette designers were going back to the office saying, “DAMN!” Continue reading “

1992 Falconer All-Aluminum V-12 Experimental ZR-12 Corvette” →

1989 Snake Skinner ZR-1: Suddenly, it’s 1963 Again!

Published on by Scott

1989-snake-skinner-zr1

by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette magazine and republished from Super Chevy
an excerpt from: Trend Setting, Part 14: A look back at Chevrolet’s
experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

Dateline: 12.18.15: It was no secret in 1988 and 1989 that Chevrolet was developing a “super-Vette.” But when the Dodge Viper RT/10, with its 488-cid V-10 engine, debuted at the 1989 New York Auto Show the Corvette guys didn’t know what hit them. The Dodge boys were completely up front as to the source of their inspiration for the Viper—it was the minimalist, ’65 Shelby 427 Cobra. You just know that the Corvette guys went back to their offices, closed the doors and yelled, “What the @$#*!” Continue reading “

1989 Snake Skinner ZR-1: Suddenly, it’s 1963 Again!” →

Bill Mitchell’s 1970 “Scirocco” Corvette Show Car

Published on by Scott

002-1970-scirocco-corvette

art and  words by K Scott Teeters for Vette magazine, republished from Super Chevy
Trend Setting – Part 12: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

The Aero Coupe Becomes the Scirocco

Dateline November 2015: It is not known when a lowly 1968 Corvette coupe was pulled off the St. Louis assembly line and given a most unusual life. Corvettes are built to be driven and enjoyed by customers; however, this Cinderella Corvette was destined to be a beauty queen in a gilded cage. The designers and craftsmen at Chevrolet Styling were capable of beautiful work. They could have broken off and become their own custom coach-builders. Continue reading “

Bill Mitchell’s 1970 “Scirocco” Corvette Show Car” →

1970 XP-882 Mid-Engine/Transverse Corvette Prototype

Published on by Scott

1970-chevrolet-corvette-xp-882-illustration

words and art by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette magazine and republished from Super Chevy
Duntov SLAMS Ford’s Pantera, AMC’s AMX/3 & Mercedes–Benz’s C111. Trend Setting – Part 10: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

Dateline November 2015: Between Car Life Magazine and Road & Track, the Corvette community was almost totally convinced that this would be the 1973 Corvette! Obviously that didn’t happen, but it was still a great day for Corvette fans at the New York Auto Show on April 2, 1970, because no one knew that Chevrolet was showing a mid-engine Corvette concept car. Mid-engine Corvettes were always lurking in the shadows with that, “Hey, sailor …” smile. But the XP-882 mid-engine experimental Corvette show car had drop-dead looks and it seriously looked like it “could be” the next Vette. It was everything a Vette lover would want and then some. Best of all, Ford and AMC never knew what hit them. Continue reading “

1970 XP-882 Mid-Engine/Transverse Corvette Prototype” →

1973 XP-895 Reynolds Aluminum Corvette Prototype: “The Seed of the C7 Corvette?”

Published on by Scott

1973-corvette-xp-895-prototype-illustration

by Scott Teeters as written for Vette magazine and republished from Super Chevy
Trend Setting – Part 11: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes.

Dateline November 2015: In the last installment of our series we told you about the 1970 XP-882 mid-engine, transverse Corvette prototype. Chevrolet landed a KO punch on Ford and AMC, never knowing what hit them. So why didn’t Chevrolet strike while the iron was hot? Perhaps because the XP-882 didn’t generate the sizzle from the crowd the way the Mako Shark II did when it made its debut in 1965, Chevrolet took the XP-882 home and did little with it for over a year. Continue reading “

1973 XP-895 Reynolds Aluminum Corvette Prototype: “The Seed of the C7 Corvette?”” →

The General’s Aerovette – Concept Corvette: A Piece of History

Published on by Scott

2015-10-15_13-59-22-640x327

This mid-engine project started as XP-822. Eventually it was renamed the Aerovette, and was used to showcase GM’s newly-acquired rotary engine technology. Bill Mitchell’s design team gave the car a bold, aerodynamic shape, gullwing doors, and a window over the engine compartment to show off the then-installed experimental four-rotor engine. It was exhibited as the Four-Rotor Corvette with Sterling Silver paint and a silver leather interior. After GM abandoned its rotary engine program, Bill Mitchell gave the car new life by having the rotary engine replaced with a small-block V8. He then christened the car as the Aerovette. Images courtesy of GM Heritage Center.

by Randy Bolig as republished from Corvette Online
The Four-Rotor Corvette

Dateline November 2015: The concept car is an instrument used by automotive manufacturer’s to not only showcase ideas, but get the reaction of consumers about those ideas. These cars are never designed with a complete production likeness, but rather, to create a fervor about the possibilities. Continue reading “

The General’s Aerovette – Concept Corvette: A Piece of History” →

1990 CERV III Corvette: The “Finished” Corvette Indy, But Not the Next Vette

Published on by Scott

1990-cerv-iii-corvette-illustration

Words and Art by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette Magazine and republished from SuperChevy.com

Read the other Experimental Vettes Stories HERE.


Trend Setting, Part 13: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

The CERV III was a real-world version of the Corvette Indy show car. It was also the first functional, electronic high-tech Corvette concept car. There was a long, dry spell of Corvette concept cars after the mid-engine 4-Rotor/Aerovette. Not only did the Corvette go through a total redesign, but electronic computer-control systems enabled fuel-injection to come back and along with it, solid, ’60s-like performance with modern emissions ratings on unleaded gas. Computers were the best thing to happen to the Corvette since the big-block. Now it was time to see how far the envelope could be pushed. Continue reading “

1990 CERV III Corvette: The “Finished” Corvette Indy, But Not the Next Vette” →

Corvette Prototypes and Concepts – Trend Setting: Part 9

Published on by Scott

duntov-corvette-concept-prototype-lt2-drag-vette-pumpkin

Words and Art by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette magazine and republished from SuperChevy.com

A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes

General Motors makes hundreds of kinds of cars and trucks. Some sell hundreds of thousands of units a year, which makes Chevrolet’s Corvette a complete enigma. Given the small number of Corvettes sold every year, it is a modern American manufacturing miracle that the car survived for 61 years. Continue reading “

Corvette Prototypes and Concepts – Trend Setting: Part 9″ →