Daily Slideshow: Once Upon a Time There Was a Corvette Rear-Engine Prototype
Newly unearthed photos show the 1959 XP-719 Corvette predated the mid-engine Aerovette by a decade.
Eureka
It pays to do a little spring cleaning, recycle whatever's in those boxes in the attic, clear out old filing cabinets—you never know what you'll find. The crew at Super Chevy recently did a little cleaning up and that's when they came across what used to be called an '8x10 glossy,' a promotional photo of a car they didn't recognize. Not every staffer at every magazine recognizes every car but this one was significant. This one was in a folder labeled '1959 Corvette,' it's the one you see here. Clearly, it's not a photo of the 1959 Corvette we all know and most of us love. It looks more like a possible production variation of Pete Brock, Bill Mitchell, and Larry Shinoda's 1959 Corvette XP-87 Stingray Racer concept.
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Digging Deeper
The photo they found bore the date 2-1-60, and the name of the photographer, as well as a note on the flipside that read: "The first mid-engine Corvette proposal 1959." They sent the photo to the good folks at the GM Heritage Center and the Heritage Center sleuths sent back another folder, one with more photos of the car that seem to show its evolution. The Heritage Center also sent a copy of a build sheet for the car that they described as "nearly blank," but contained a few important pieces of the puzzle. The car was described as a V-8 rear-engine Corvette. Its code number was XP-719. The program initiation date was marked as 6-4-1959, and the engineers involved were listed as Renner-Hill.
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CERVish
Now, in 1959 Detroit, 'rear-engine' could have been shorthand for 'not front,' but the information that the car was V-8 powered, coupled with the stowed position of the folding convertible top (we'll get to that in a moment) seem to indicate that it was not only mid-engined, but may have been based on the Chevrolet Experimental Research Vehicle, or CERV. The CERV I was developed during the same time period, was powered by a 350 hp Chevrolet 283 cubic inch V-8, and the proportions seem to fit. It was also no secret that Zora Arkus-Duntov, the creator of the CERV project, had a deep jones to see a mid-engined 'Vette.
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Pre-Aero
As an attractive aside, when Duntov did get his wish and development started on a mid-engine Corvette, it was the closing of the 1960s. The car that would eventually be called the Aerovette (not to be confused with the Astovette) started life as the XP-882, powered by a transversely-mounted V-8. The concept hung about for a few years, getting a restyle and both two- and four-rotor Wankel engines. For the final version, a V-8 was back, joined by gullwing doors, but Duntov had left and business decisions dictated that Corvettes would remain front-engined for a while longer.
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The Players
Neither we nor Super Chevy could come up with much info about XP-719 designer Ron Hill, pictured here (on the left) with Larry Shinoda (crouching). Carl Renner, who passed away in 2001, is another story though. Renner, a long-time Corvette stylist, designed the coves for the '56 C1 redesign and has been named as one of the parties involved with the 1961’s Corvette's Stingray-style rear end treatment, also seen on this prototype.
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Mechanism
The photos have faded so it's difficult to see, but the convertible top and its mechanism (pictured in black) are attached to a full-size sketch of the rear half of the car. It appears as if the idea was for the top to retract to the extreme rear of the car, behind what would be a mid-mounted engine.
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Editions of You
Judging by these photos, which again, the GM Heritage Center says are all of the XP-719, some pretty significant changes were made from version to version. Not only does this 1959 mock-up feature very end-1950s raised, fin-like rear fender extensions, it also features more potential cooling vent openings than the drawing, and in different spots than the on the 1960 prototype. As talk increases about a future mid-engine Corvette, these photos seem to prove that history repeats itself. Especially at GM.
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