prototypes
What’s a prototype?
1951 How it all began
1952 Corvette EX-122
1954 Corvette Corvair Motorama showcar
1954 Corvette Hardtop Motorama Showcar
1954 Corvette Nomad Motorama Showcar
1955 Corvette Biscayne Show Car
1956 Harlow Curtis SR-2 Lookalike
1956 Corvette Impala Show Car
1956 Corvette SR-2 Sebring Racer
1952 EX-122 Concept Car
1957 Q Corvette
1957 Corvette SS Show Car
1957 Corvette SS XP-64
1958 XP-700
1959 Stingray Racer XP-87
1959 Corvette Stingray
1961 Corvette Mako Shark XP-755
1962 C2 Prototype XP-720
1962 Four Seat Stingray Corvette XP-720 2+2
1963 Corvette Rondine Pininfarina Coupe
1963 Corvette Grand Sport
1963 Wedge Corvette Split Windshield
1964 World’s Fair Styling Study
1964 Clay model for '66 update
1964 Grand Sport GS-II(b)
1964 CERV II
1964 Pontiac Banshee XP-833
1964 Corvette XP-819 Rear Engine
1965 Corvette Mako Shark XP-830
1966 Mid Engine Styling Proposal
1967 Astro I
1968 Corvette Astro-Vette
1968 Astro II-XP-880 mid engine
1969 Astro III
1969 Manta Ray
1969 Mid Engine XP-882
1970 Scirocco Showcar
1970 Corvette XP-882
1973 Corvette 2 rotor XP-897-GT
1973 Reynolds XP-895
1973 Corvette 4 rotor XP-882
Aerovette
1973 Corvette XP-898
1974 Mulsanne Showcar
1976 Corvette XP-882
1979 Turbo Corvette
1978 Corvette Astro-Vette
1980 Turbo Corvette
1982 4th Generation Concepts
1984 Bertone Ramarro
1985 Corvette Indy
1986 GTP Corvette
1987 Corvette Geneve
1989 Corvette DR-1
1989 Corvette ZR-2
1990 Corvette Conan ZR-12 V12
1990 CERV III
1990 Bertone Nivola
1991 ZR-1 Snake Skinner
1992 Stingray III
2001 Corvette Tiger Shark
2003 Corvette Italdesign Moray
2009 Sideswipe

1990 CERV III


CERV stands for Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle. The CERVIII is one of the most advanced concepts ever created. Never before has so much working technology crammed into one car for performance purposes. The cost to develop a car like the CERVIII would be astronomical.

Coming from a long line of mid-engine Corvette prototypes, the CERVIII was the final attempt towards a mid-mounted engine. Inspiration for the car's design came from the Corvette Indy which was released four years earlier than the CERVIII. Unlike this prototype, the Indy was more of a display model, incapable of being driven.

The body of the CERVIII is made of carbon fibre, nomex and kevlar, reinforced with aluminum honeycomb. This material forms a one-piece composite unit. Highlighting the structure is an exceptionally low drag at 0.277 Cd.

Powering the car is a Lotus-tuned 5.7-liter V8. Mahle pistons, stonger connecting rods and twin Garett Turbochargers help the engine achieve 650 horsepower. This engine combined with the low-drag body give CERVIII a calculated top speed of 225 mph!

With such high speed capability, a strong braking system is a must. On each wheel a dual disc setup is used. This creates a sandwich of brakes which effectively doubles the surface area. As a drawback, having 8 disc brakes instead of the usual four does increase overall weight.

WIth the transmission setup another innovation is achieved. Six forward speeds compliment the CERVIII by means of two transmissions! That's right, a three-speed Hydramatic unit is linked to a custom two-speed transmission resulting in six gears. With this setup shifting is done automatically by computer control.

From the transmissions, power is transferred to all four wheels though a viscous-coupling system. This system helps achieve maximum traction by varying the torque to the front and rear wheels. No doubt this setup is influenced by the Porsche 959.

It is interesting to note that of all the mid-engine prototypes made, the CERV III was the closest to production. Marketing plays a major role in decisions such as these and the Corvette has little room for major change. Like all the other mid-engine corvettes, the CERV III has never made it past the prototype phase. However, the styling cues were not lost. It was the 4th Generation Camaro that inherited the huge-by-wide front glass, rear hatch glass and rear wing, and while the CERV III had a removable targa-type roof panel, the Camaro was available with a t-roof.








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