1970 XP-882 Mid-Engine/Transverse Corvette Prototype

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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?”

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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

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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” →

[VIDEO] Corvette Museum Heritage Series Features the Don Messner Collection

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by Keith Cornett as republished from Corvette Blogger
Don Messner wanted to plant a seed, his widow says

Dateline November 2015: Like so many Corvette enthusiasts, Don was committed to America’s Sports Car – and the National Corvette Museum. That’s why he decided to leave his collection of 10 Corvettes, many collector and special editions, low mileage examples, to the Museum when he passed away in 2013. Continue reading “

[VIDEO] Corvette Museum Heritage Series Features the Don Messner Collection” →

“All I Wanted Was a Car”: Brad Paisley on Country Music, Corvettes, and Running from the Cops

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by John Pearley Huffman as republished from Car and Driver
Brad Paisley Loves Corvettes

Dateline November 2015: C/D: Your tour bus is painted like a 1958–62 Corvette.

BP: I have a lot of things painted like that, with the Corvette cove. My guitar room at the studio is an entire room painted red with a giant 12-foot Corvette cove where the guitars hang. You’d love it. That might be the most attractive and iconic design for a vehicle ever. There’s no doubt what that is when you see it. Continue reading “

“All I Wanted Was a Car”: Brad Paisley on Country Music, Corvettes, and Running from the Cops” →

Lightning Lap 2015: 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

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as republished from Car and Driver
It’s as if this car exists solely for Lightning Lap

Lap Time: 2:44.6
Base Price: $93,480
As-Tested Price: $100,245
650 hp | 3550 lb | 5.5 lb/hp

Dateline November 2015: Seconds before the Corvette Z06 crosses the start-finish line to begin its hot lap, you’re subjected to 1.20 g’s of lateral acceleration for six full seconds through Hog Pen. A silence falls over the switchboard in your head. Every neuron lines up to get the Z06 moving through space as quickly as possible. Gone are the employment doubts, the mortgage-payment anxieties, and the hair-thinning concerns that clutter up your daily thoughts—domestic worry is not possible at 1.20 g’s. Belt into a Z06 with the Z07 package like this one and the automotive-induced enlightenment lasts exactly 2:44.6. Continue reading “

Lightning Lap 2015: 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06″ →

Pro Touring 1965 Corvette vs. 2015 Corvette Z06

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by Scott Parker as republished for SuperChevy
Built vs. Bought: Pitting Brian Hobaugh’s Pro Touring ’65 against a stock 2015 Z06

Dateline October 2015: Hot rodding is as American as apple pie. It embodies some of the most fundamental American concepts such as the ability to accomplish anything. An OEM can spend millions of dollars developing a car like the 2015 Corvette Z06, but we believe we can make it better. More over, we believe we can make a much older car even better than a brand-new car. Is it arrogant and even foolish? Probably, yeah… But this is the land of opportunity. And out on track, it doesn’t matter whether each part was meticulously designed by a separate engineer with FEA and CAD software, or grabbed from a rusty parts bin on a shop floor. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins. Continue reading “

Pro Touring 1965 Corvette vs. 2015 Corvette Z06″ →

Amazing Corvette Gassers Of Two Generations

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by Steve Temple as republished from Corvette Online

Dateline October 2015: Back in the 1960s, Corvettes duked it out with Shelby Cobras on road courses across the country. But, there was another battle raging on American asphalt. Supercharged gassers—wild, nearly uncontrollable machines with short wheelbases and ungainly body styles—that dominated the drag strip. They were a challenge to drive and fun to watch—from a safe distance. Early versions ran Oldsmobile or Cadillac power, but as the years progressed, blown Chevy V8s and Chrysler Hemis were the engines of choice. Continue reading “

Amazing Corvette Gassers Of Two Generations” →

Road & Track Critique Sparks Discussion About Corvette C7 Z06’s Image

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by Detroit Steel as republished from Corvette Forum

Dateline October 2015: Let me make one thing clear at the onset, all these reports about the C7 Z06 overheating are disappointing to say the least. As you know, we’ve regretfully had to cover it extensively, even some issues experienced by Z06 owners right here at Corvette Forum. Continue reading “

Road & Track Critique Sparks Discussion About Corvette C7 Z06’s Image” →

Pro-Mod Vette ROLL RACING on the Drag Strip!?! VIDEO

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as republished from CorvetteOnline
Roll Racing In A Tube Chassis Nitrous Huffing ‘Vette!

From the “Never Seen That Before” files, 1320 Video brings us footage of a full-on drag car taking more traditional roll-racing rides behind the woodshed at Street Car Takeover in Oklahoma City. Check it out! “Roll Racing” is not something we here at Dragzine cover often, as it generally doesn’t qualify as drag racing to us or our audience. However, our friends over at 1320Video recently shared this clip that goes a long way to bridge the gap between highway racing and genuine drag racing. Continue reading “

Pro-Mod Vette ROLL RACING on the Drag Strip!?! VIDEO” →

Reversing Past Deeds Done to 1963 Split-Window Corvette Sting Ray-Guided By NCRS

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by John Gilbert as republished from SuperChevy.com
1963 Sting Ray a Split-Decision

Dateline October 2015: The expression hindsight is 20-20 takes on a completely different meaning when the subject is being able to obtain a totally un-obscured rearview from a 1963 split-window Corvette. This is going to sound strange to younger readers or older ones that weren’t into Corvettes back when the 1963 Sting Ray coupe was introduced, but one of the biggest complaints was the obstructed rear view caused by the split rear windows, and consequently kept the ’63 split-window Corvette as the least desirable model of the ’63-67 run. Continue reading “

Reversing Past Deeds Done to 1963 Split-Window Corvette Sting Ray-Guided By NCRS” →

Truly Crazy Corvette Customs from Yesteryear

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by John Gilbert as republished from SuperChevy.com
Retro Vette Madness

Dateline October 2015: The summer of 1969 is long over, but the traces of Corvette custom culture are as vivid in the pages of old issues of Hot Rod, archived online at the Hot Rod Club, than the nostalgia associated with Farah Fawcett’s titillating smile. And yes, Farah once owned her share of wildly customized Corvettes, including Farah’s Foxy Vette by Barris. Continue reading “

Truly Crazy Corvette Customs from Yesteryear” →