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”
