Mid-Engine Corvette Concepts That Never Made It

Mid-Engine Corvettes of History

The man known as the "father of the Corvette," Zora Arkus-Duntov was eager to experiment with the idea of a mid-engine Corvette since the early days of the C1. He always wanted to push the boundaries of performance with the 'Vette, and a mid-engine layout was always the direction he wanted to take. After over six decades of America's sports car, we are on the verge of being introduced to the mid-engine C8. 

Let's take a look back at 8 mid-engine Corvette concepts that were not meant to be.

1. XP-880 (Astro II)

In 1968, the Astro II concept was introduced to the world. Although prior to this, the CERV (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) and CERV II hinted at the possibility of a high-performance mid-engine Chevy concept to come, this was the first concept car that looked like a real production-ready Corvette. The Astro II even has a similar styling DNA as the C3.

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2. XP-882

Not to be left behind from the likes of Mercedes-Benz who had introduced the C111 concept car, the XP-882 came into existence as Chevrolet's hand in the game in 1970. Despite the overwhelmingly positive response to the concept, As with every other cool idea that was put to the side, the XP-882 also fell victim to the decisions of top GM management.

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3. XP-895

Two years later in 1972, the XP-895 was built. This was, more or less, an evolution of the previous XP-882 concept. It featured the same 400ci V8 and 3-speed transmission. The big difference, however, was its lightweight aluminum body. Ultimately, though, fiberglass triumphed over aluminum.

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4. XP-897 GT

Only a year after that, in 1973, the GM concept that the company's management had been looking forward to was finally complete. While there may be many visual similarities between the XP-897 GT and the XP-895 of the previous year, the main difference was the fact that the new concept featured a 266ci 2-rotor Wankel engine.

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5. Four-Rotor Corvette

And that leads us to the Four-Rotor Corvette of the same year. With GM's obsession at the time with the rotary engine and the fact that the XP-897 GT had a huge shortcoming in the power department, Chevrolet decided to add 2 rotors to the power unit. The 4-rotor setup brought the power output to 360 HP. Obviously, GM management's idea was executed, despite Arkus-Duntov's disapproval, and the concept... shall we say, did not do too well.

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6. Aerovette (1976)

Following the styling philosophy of the Four-Rotor, the next attempt at a mid-engine Corvette came in 1976 when the Aerovette captured the imagination of the automotive world. The Aerovette was, in fact, approved for production for 1980. Despite the strength of the concept and its design, however, after Arkus-Duntov's retirement in '75, advocates of the mid-engine 'Vette were in the minority, and David McLellan decided to keep the front-mid platform and canceled the Aerovette program entirely.

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7. Corvette Indy

After a decade of silence, talk of the mid-engine Corvette resurfaced again with the introduction of the Corvette Indy. This concept featured a lot of the same technology from GM's Indy car development program. It was powered by the 2.65-liter V8 racecar engine, and it was designed with a composite monocoque chassis and carbon-kevlar body. The biggest reason why this never made it to production was the extremely high cost.

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8. CERV III

And that brings us to the CERV III of 1990. This project came about as an effort to make the Corvette Indy more cost-efficient. It was, in essence, a toned-down version of the Indy. The problem, however, was that it was still too expensive, which is why we never saw this go into production either, and instead got the similarly styled C5.

Since 1990, there has been a drought of mid-engine Corvette ideas. But that all changed when rumors of the C8 started swirling around. And while these concepts never made it to the factory lines, the mid-engine C8 is looking very likely to be the real deal. Still, let's keep our fingers crossed!

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