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The Best Corvette Concept Cars Ever Created!!!

To commemorate the launch of the definitive book on "Corvette Concept Cars," we proudly present our picks of the ten greatest Corvette concepts of all time! Hint, it was really hard to only choose a handful, especially when you consider there are dozens of amazing Corvette concept cars over the decades.

C1-Era Corvette Concepts

On January 17, 1953, a prototype Corvette sports car makes its debut at General Motors Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. It was the starting point of the 1953 General Motors Motorama tour. One of the cars, a fiberglass prototype, EX-52, Shop Order (S.O.) 1737, generated enough enthusiasm from the public to push production ahead by several months, resulting in the use of Fiberglas for the bodies to hasten production. For a while, GM was considering a line of Corvettes, thus two Corvette-based prototypes – the Nomad (S.O. 1954) and the Corvair (S.O. 2071) – were crafted along with a mildly modified Corvette wearing a prototype detachable hardtop (S.O. 2000) for the 1954 GM Motorama. In 1961 under the personal supervision of Bill Mitchell, we got to see the wild-looking XP-700 and the Mako Shark I. A great era of concepts and prototypes.

Carl Renner was responsible for the Nomad which was essentially a Corvette built with an extended station wagon roof. This meant the Corvette shared its lightweight fiberglass body, ‘Blue Flame’ inline-6 engine and curvaceous styling with the Nomad.
Based on Harley Earl’s Project Opel plaster model, the EX52 / 122 was the original concept car that inspired the nation and left countless consumers wanting a Corvette to call their own. This Corvette concept was introduced at GM’s Motorama in January 1953.
The Corvair concept car was initially presented to the public at the 1954 Motorama at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. The Corvair presented at the Waldorf was not the same car that traveled to other Motorama shows throughout the year.
The 1954 Corvette was outfitted with several unique design features. These were the results of two design exercises that included both interior and exterior upgrades. Outwardly, this styling concept is distinguished by its sharkfin headlights which effectively split each headlight down the center.
Besides a normal convertible model, the 1954 Chevrolet Corvette line-up also featured a hardtop, actually a Convertible Coupe. It was one of the Corvette based Motorama dream cars shown in 1954 and was a version fitted with a removable hardtop. The Advertising Brochure even called out the removable hardtop design.
GM’s 1950s Motorama-mobiles were mostly pretty out-there, with flamboyant fins, rocket-inspired skegs and cockpits, and other flights of wild imagination. Frankly, many of them were a bit absurd and even childish. But there were a few that were somewhat down to earth, even rather brilliant, like this 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne.
Built for outright top speed, this prototype Corvette was built by Zora Duntov. He successfully piloted the car to a two-way average speed of 150 mph in January of 1956 at Daytona. Later two more similar cars were built for the 1956 Daytona Speed Weeks in February. After initial resistance from Engineering, Duntov’s cam was delivered to the Proving Ground.
The engineers came up with a unit-body construction that relied on strength coming from the side sills of the chassis. These contained the exhaust which probably easily overheated the cockpit, especially in the coupe. Unfortunately, GM fitted fake V6 engines in both cars with a concept valve train that included dual overhead camshafts.
On July of 1955, the Chevrolet design studio staff created a dream car for the 1956 GM Motorama shows, called Corvette Impala. The Corvette grille and grille surround are incorporated, as well as other Corvette components. This hardtop five-passenger sports sedan shows the name "Corvette Impala" on the front emblem and rear license plate.
The Corvette SS racing car and its mule test car were planned as far back as August of 1956, well before the Super Sport show car. However, that one was referred to within GM as the XP-64, and it was finished in march, well after the show car had been on the show circuit for a couple of months.
Duntov laid out three design concepts that took decades to implement. The first was his proposal for the 1957 Q-Corvette. This design called for the following: an all-aluminum, fuel-injected small-block engine, four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and a transaxle. This design concept arrived in 1997 as the C5.
Corvette XP700 Concept
Designed and built under the personal supervision of Bill Mitchell, the wild-looking XP-700 used many regular Corvette components (frame, chassis parts and engine). Bill Mitchell had a lot of “customs” built for himself. This XP-700 previewed the new tail of the upcoming 1961 Corvette.
In 1959, the bones of the SS were revived when Bill Mitchell secretly funded the Stingray race car. Mitchell purchased the chassis of the 1957 SS race car mule for $500 and had a design team create a new body. Mitchell felt the first generation Corvettes were too rounded and soft, so the Corvette Sting Ray Racer featured a sharper body edge that made it work.
Somewhere in the second part of 1959, project XP-720 begins at GM Styling, to design a production Corvette based on Bill Mitchell's Sting Ray racer. It would become known as the C2 or second generation Corvette. In October of that same year, a clay mock-up of project XP-720 is completed and put on display for General Motors' management viewing.
1959 Chevrolet Corvette CERV 1
The “CERV-1” (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) was developed as a research tool for that company’s continuous investigations into automotive ride and handling phenomena under the most realistic conditions. The car was built at the Chevrolet Engineering Center at Warren, Michigan in a special project headed by Mr. Zora Arkus-Duntov, Chevrolet Staff Engineer.
The Stingray that never was. The stretched version of this new Corvette model for 1963 has rear seating and was built as ordered by Chevrolet chief Ed Cole. Larry Shinoda designed this coupe, that never went into production because the demand for the two seated Stingray already was overwelming. A running prototype of a 2+2-seat C2 Corvette intended to compete with the Ford Thunderbird was built, but the project was canceled.
The XP-755 was designed and the prototype was built in the beginning of 1961. Bill Mitchell was very excited about the double-bubble roof, the side exhausts and rear. It is equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor that produces upwards of 425 horsepower. The Corvette XP-755 Concept had a streamlined design, pointed snout and outlandishly future looking elements everywhere. The 1961 Mako Shark I (XP-755) was an early concept.
SR 2 Corvette
Designed mid-1956 for Harlet Earl’s son Jerry, the SR-2 was put into racing duty in 1957. The car debuted at Daytona Beach in 1957 with a high-speed canopy, fender skirts and bullet-shaped frond headlights. Driven by Betty Skelton and Buck Baker, the car won the modified class with an average speed of 93.074 mph. The SR-2 also finished second in class for the flying mile with a top speed of 152.886 mph.
The Corvette SS began life as an experimental race car, and was unveiled to the public at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race on March 23, 1957. The SS was in training for Chevrolet's debut at LeMans that year. The Sebring race was, in many ways, Chevrolet's inauguration into modern racing. But the SS never finished the race, much to the dismay of the racing community.

C2-Era Corvette Concepts

The Mako Shark II is our favorite C2-era Corvette concept. It was built in 1965 under the direction of Bill Mitchell, and set the design standard for the 1968-1982 production Corvette. It made its debut at the 1965 Paris Auto Show. This hand-built Corvette was a favorite of Mitchell's and he drove it daily. This was also the era where we saw Chevy experiment with rear engined layouts and some wild designs.

The GS II (Grand Sport II) was a test vehicle completed in late 1963 by Chevrolet Engineering Center (C.E.C.). The chassis was constructed of spot-welded sheet steel and was fitted with narrow tires. With only minor testing done at GM’s test facility in Michigan, the vehicle was shipped to Texas to the Chaparral Cars test facility.
The 1963 Wedge Corvette split windshield concept was a sleek, front-engine design study that revived the Q Corvette’s split-windshield gullwing-style doors with a short, bobbed tail. Late in 1963, a GM Styling team under Henry Haga prepared this future Corvette proposal. Its sophisticated lines included side-mounted exhaust pipes.
1964 Chevrolet CERV II Corvette
The CERV II was entirely Zora’s car. The CERV II was conceived early in 1962 and developed over the next year, after the GS program was squashed. The car was built under Zora's direction between 1963-'64. Zora had it in mind to develop a separate line of racing Corvettes but the idea got terminated by management.
When first introduced to the world by Pontiac in 1964, the car showed so much promise that Chevrolet (allegedly) put a swift end to its development to prevent its production from hindering the sales of the Corvette.  Afterall, with the introduction of the 1963 Split-Window Corvette, Chevy was finally seeing an increase in sales, something lacking for most of the first-gen.
The XP-819 Corvette prototype was introduced in 1964 by Frank WInchell and Larry Shinoda as the first, experimental, rear-engine Corvette coupe. The XP-819 was developed in the mid-1960's as an engineering exercise to determine if a rear-engine platform was right for the Corvette program. During that time, Chevrolet was still under a racing ban.
The Mako Shark II was a radical concept that shaped Stingray years later. While showcasing distinct design cues, the Mako Shark contained many notable features for 1965. It had a one-piece front-end that hinged forward for access to the engine bay, a removable hardtop, knock-off aluminum wheels and a big-block 427. Chevrolet received overwhelming requests to have it produced.
To clothe the 1965 mid engine Corvette chassis, the designers at Styling Staff proposed a much more radical shape than Zora Arkus Duntov, the main force behind a mid engine Corvette, had in mind. It would have provided rear vision solely through a periscope. The design had bold air intakes at the rear and a split windscreen that lifted up with the gullwing doors.
Those that have laid eyes on the Astro I will not soon forget it. This 1967 Chevrolet prototype featured sleek body lines that embodied the feel of a far more aggressively styled Mako Shark. Although the Astro I was built with the intent to aid in the study of aerodynamics, no official documentation has been uncovered as to the results of this testing.

C3-Era Corvette Concepts

The Manta Ray was a redesigned Mako Shark II sent on the 1970 show circuit, featuring many of the Mako II's outward features, such as side exhaust and a lower-body. The most notable change was the inclusion of the Chevy aluminum-block 427 cubic-inch ZL1 V8 engine which produced 430 horsepower. We can't talk about this era and not mentioun the Astro-Vette, an experimental Corvette built in 1978. The primary technological goal of Astro-Vette was to improve aerodynamics and minimize drag coefficient. The 4-Rotor was one of many 'Vette-inspired specialty cars that pushed the envelope of radical changes during the era. These ideas included gull-wing doors, and a mid-ship mounted Wankel rotary engine. The 4-Rotor featured high-tech interior displays and readouts and aerodynamic styling that influenced future Corvette designs. Anyone who has complained that the eighth-generation Stingray ruined the Corvette when its engine got moved behind the driver clearly doesn’t know the long history of the mid-engine Corvette program. Developed under the direction of Frank Winchell, the 1968 Astro II was originally developed as a potential competitor to the production model of the original Ford GT-40.

The Astro II was one of the most significant case studies of Duntov’s outright refusal to let his mid-engine dreams die, and as such, ultimately entered the history books as a precursor to the eventual mid-engine, C8 Corvettes of today. The Astro II was designed in a way that was more representative of the Corvette’s typical styling cues, than that of The Astro I.
The Astro II was one of the most significant case studies of Duntov’s outright refusal to let his mid-engine dreams die, and as such, ultimately entered the history books as a precursor to the eventual mid-engine, C8 Corvettes of today. The Astro II was designed in a way that was more representative of the Corvette’s typical styling cues, than that of The Astro I.
Though the first two prototype cars to carry the Astro namesake were relatively well known, the third entry in this conceptual saga was somewhat obscure and significantly more bizarre. At the 1969 Chicago Motor Show, Chevrolet unveiled the Astro III which was a gas-turbine prototype that featured a tricycle wheel arrangement.
The Manta Ray was actually the 1965 Mako Shark II (XP-830) with a few upgrades, so it featured many of the Mako II's outward features, such as side exhausts and a lower-body (along the rocker panels) silver paint job. The front end had a pointed chin spoiler and the headlights used 2 banks of 3 quartz-halogen lights.
This little concept mounted a 180-horse Wankel transversely, driving a new automatic transaxle being developed for the forthcoming X-body Citation. Designed by GM's Experimental Studio and built in 6 months on a modified Porsche 914 chassis by Pininfarina, the 2-Rotor made its debut at the 1973 Frankfurt show.
One of the most beautiful concept cars created by GM was the XP-822 later called the Aerovette. Zora Arkus Duntov and his engineers had originally built two predecessors during 1969. John DeLorean, Chevrolet's general manager, felt the program was too expensive and canceled the car.
The XP-895 was one in a series of experimental Corvettes built to explore alternative engine placements and chassis layouts. This vehicle features an 400 cid small block V8 mounted transversely in a mid-engine position. It utilizes a Turbo Hydramatic transmission via a bevel gear box. The body panels are all aluminum.
The 1973 Chevrolet XP-898 concept car was built with a frameless fiberglass foam sandwich body and chassis. This two-seater sports coupe offered a unique look at alternative engineering approaches to future techniques in design and manufacturing. The entire body consisted of four lightweight fiberglass outer body panels.
Chevrolet Corvette Mulsanne Showcar, 1974. Created by Bill Mitchell, the Mulsanne was a development of several previous Corvette “specials”, the 1969 Aero and the 1970 Scirocco. By 1974 it had been bored out to 454 ci and fitted with an experimental Rochester fuel injection system, it also had a periscope rearview mirror system.
In 1977, GM chairman Thomas Murphy gave the Aero-vette the green light. It was approved for production, and slated to be released in 1980. Despite being greenlit for 1980 production as the upcoming C4 Corvette, Arkus-Duntov's replacement Dave McLellan decided for a number of reasons (cost and tradition among them) to stick with the Corvette's tried and true front-engine configuration
The Chevrolet Aerovette (originally designated Experimental Project XP-882) was developed in the late 1960's under the watchful eyes and mind of Zora Arkus-Duntov.  Unlike the XP-819, which ultimately proved to have too much rear weight bias, Duntov focused on developing the Aerovette as a mid-engine platform.

C4-Era Corvette Concepts

Arguably one of the most radical of all the Corvette concept cars, the Indy Concept from 1986 was a mid-engine sports car that was an expression of pure design, without the constraints of driver ergonomics, cockpit accessibility, or adequate interior space.  It featured a powerplant created by the Lotus company. The 1986 Corvette Indy Concept also served as a precursor to Chevrolet’s next engineering/research vehicle, the 1990 CERV III. This was an era where we saw several prototypes that were designed to push the engineering and performance envelope for the Corvette platform, from a focus on the chassis, handling and engine to advanced active suspension components.

In 1983, Bertone began to explore the possibility of approaching the US market with the Ramarro, an exercise in applied technology around mass-produced mechanics. The Ramarro, which means "green lizard" in Italian, was created on the chassis of the well-known Chevrolet Corvette, and the underlying concept aimed to modify the layout of the mechanical components.
The first  of these cars was the 1985 Corvette Indy Concept vehicle.  It was developed as a “pushmobile,” meaning that it was a non-functioning, full-size clay mockup that was developed to test market interest in the concept.  The car featured the same mid-engine configuration that Zora Arkus-Duntov had always envisioned for the Corvette program. 
The 1986 Corvette Indy Prototype was developed beyond clay modeling to the point of a fully-functioning, drivable car, though it was clearly understood that this car would never evolve beyond the prototype stage.  Like the clay mock-up before it, development of the mid-engine Indy prototype began in 1985, pulling design cues from its predecessor.
This is no ordinary C4 coupe, but a GM Engineering test mule with VIN plate EX4607 proudly displayed in the windscreen, built in 1986 to test all the new-for-1988 features. This actual car must have spent weeks pounding round the General Motors Proving Ground at Milford, Michigan with longer runs on the road, testing all the changes for a year which saw the C4 suspension, steering and brakes vastly improved.
There were several successful attempts to build a convertible ZR-1, most of them by private people. The DR-1 was a GM prototype to test the structural integrity of the ZR-1 chassis when it would be topless. The car was built by American Sunroof Corporation (ASC) for Don Runkle, who was the vice-president of Advanced Engineering Staff, which explains the “DR-1” designation. It was a standard convertible transformed to ZR-1 specs.
In the late 80s, Chevy was developing what some dubbed a ‘Super Vette.’ But the 1989 debut of the Dodge Viper sent GM engineers on a new path to develop a ‘Viper-Killer.’ It started with a factory test mule and the experiment was to see how a ZR-1 would perform if given more power and less weight. It was so fast it was called "Snake Skinnner", for it's ability to beat the Viper and Cobra.
How do you beat a slew of Fox-Body 5.0 Mustangs that seemingly dominated the roads in the late '80s? You take a 454 cu.-in. big-block engine and stuff into a C4 Corvette and call it "Big Doggie". An experimental vehicle used to determine how to convert from a small block to a big block. Its 454 big block V8 along with its orange paint make this high horsepower engineering study a one-of-a-kind standout in Corvette history. The car had as much HP as the '90 ZR-1 did and it was named "ZR-2" or "Big Doggie". Old dog, new tricks joke?
The Nivola may be considered Bertone’s homage to the most fascinating American sports car: the Chevrolet Corvette. The sophisticated mechanical unit of the ZR-1 was interpreted by Bertone in a European key. Bertone designed a special chassis to make a sporty "boat" with a mid engine. This mechanical layout made it possible to exploit all the power of the engine when accelerating and warrant perfect roadholding on bends.
While it was understood that the Corvette Indy Concept would never be fully realized as a production vehicle, it paved the way for the creation of the twin-turbo CERV III. The CERV III (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle No. 3) was introduced in January, 1990 at the International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Like the latter iteration of the Corvette Indy Concept car, the CERV III was fitted with a 5.7 Liter, 32-valve, dual-overhead cam LT5 engine that featured twin turbochargers. It had 650 hp and 655 lb/ft of torque and top speed of 225 mph.
This vehicle pioneered the advantages of “Active Suspension” and had GTP Corvette race car technology. Built at the Bowling Green Plant, this vehicle was developed as a prototype for a limited edition run in the 1990 model year. Chevrolet ordered it to be built with a complex, high-tech active suspension that includes an Eaton hydraulic pump and Moog actuators. This car and the technology inside of it led to the Active Handling system GM released in 1996.
Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 Spyder prototype, 1991, by ASC. An experimental styling prototype ordered by Don Runkle, Chevrolet’s chief engineer, to see how far the ZR-1 might be pushed in convertible form. The windshield was chopped in half and the seats were mounted directly to the floorpan. The black example in the National Corvette Museum was originally painted Sebring Silver with a Neutrino Yellow interior.
CERV IV was nothing more than a C4 with the all new powertrain and interior in it. Read the commentary of a car magazine reporter: "We suspect that the first, very early prototypes of the all-new, Gen III ran on the dynos at GM Powertrain sometime in the early spring of 1993. In-vehicle testing began at the GM Milford Proving Ground in the first week in May of 1993 with the "Chevrolet Engineering and Research Vehicle IV-A".
The Corvette Stingray Concept was developed as an internal design challenge to combine classic Corvette cues with surprisingly high-tech features, modern materials, and a striking new appearance. The car is well-appointed with a clamshell hood, scissor-style doors, ergonomic seats, rear-view camera with night vision enhancement, and a high performance hybrid drive. Interactive touch controls allow the driver to customize the power and efficiency of his or her ride.
The Corvette team decided to one-up the Viper with four extra cylinders, they decided on one of Ryan Falconer’s stunning, all aluminum, 600-cubic-inch, 683hp, 680 lb-ft V-12 racing engines. The biggest challenge was the fact that the all-aluminum V-12 engine was 8.8-inches longer than the production Corvette engine. So the front end of the ZR-1 would have to be stretched 8 inches. This test car was named Conan, after his raw, beastlike charisma.
Chevrolet Corvette “Tiger Shark” Concept, 1997. A C5 Corvette powered by an alloy 742hp LS1 427ci supercharged V8. Other modifications included upgraded Brembo brakes, 18-inch Kinesis Motorsport K58 forged wheels and a hood dome to clear the supercharger. It was built by Detroit prototype shop Wheel-To-Wheel and sold for $112,200 in 2009 at the GM Heritage car auction.

C5-Era Corvette Concepts

Things got quiet during the C5-era in terms of out-there concepts, but we did see third parties like ItalDesign take a stav at creating pure concepts on top of the Corvette platform.

"Hot" is an apt description of this special coupe's drivetrain. Its 6.6-liter engine produces 512 horsepower and 523 lbs.-ft. of torque. Mated to a four-speed automatic transmission and featuring a 3:41 geared limited slip differential and four-wheel independent suspension, this "Vette takes a backseat to no other vehicle. The White Shark Corvette also features power rack-and-pinion steering to precisely pilot this vehicle and four-wheel disc brakes with ABS.
Corvette Of The Day: 2003 Italdesign Moray Corvette
The Moray project, presented for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show on March 4, 2003, embodies the homage that Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro wish to pay to the fifty-year era of the Chevrolet Corvette, the supreme symbol of the American sports car. Touched by drifting tides with long and slender front lights, bringing immediately to mind the Moray, the English term for the eel-type fish, muraena helena, found in Mediterranean waters.

C6-Era Corvette Concepts

The Stingray concept was a sports car whose body was based on the Q-Corvette, the design was later reworked to fit the Corvette SS chassis. The body is made of fiberglass, with aluminum reinforcement. It’s fitted with a Chevrolet small-block V8 engine. The stingray influenced the design of the Mako Shark I. The best part about this concept is that we got to see it in action in the Transformers movies. We also saw some serious performance-focused prototypes and concepts during the C6 era.

Chevrolet Corvette “Tiger Shark” Concept, 1997. A C5 Corvette powered by an alloy 742hp LS1 427ci supercharged V8. Other modifications included upgraded Brembo brakes, 18-inch Kinesis Motorsport K58 forged wheels and a hood dome to clear the supercharger. It was built by Detroit prototype shop Wheel-To-Wheel and sold for $112,200 in 2009 at the GM Heritage car auction.
SIDESWIPE takes the form of a sleek, vision concept dreamed up by the Corvette designers at GM. The design is influenced by the original Stingray race car, introduced in 1959, but also draws on Corvette heritage cues from other generations. It brings them together in a futuristic shape that seems to be equal parts racecar and space ship.
The Corvette Jake Edition is a Grand Sport Coupe, with Z06 wheels featuring the Competition Gray finish. The matte Jake hood graphic from the GT1 commemorative model adds a subtle visual statement, while a host of other accessories round out the car’s unique appearance. Most of the parts added to this special Grand Sport are available today as Genuine Corvette Accessories or through any Chevrolet dealer’s parts department.
The 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06X Track Car Concept was designed to suggest new components and a new idea for transforming a production Corvette into a serious and closed-course track car. This track car concept was developed and produced by Chevrolet in partnership with Pratt and Miller, the partners in Corvette Racing in the American LeMans Series. The competition-oriented modifications of the concept include a polycarbonate rear window, roll cage, safety harness, racing seat.
The Carlisle Blue Grand Sport Concept is painted in a very cool Carlisle Blue exterior with exquisite Pearl White full-length racing stripes. This color combination is highlighted with Silver-painted Torque 2 wheels. The Corvette also benefited from carbon fiber front splitter and rockers, a full-width rear spoiler, and a Grand Sport style hood blanket. For the interior, Chevrolet has opted for Ebony/Titanium leather with blue stitching, a new Bose Premium Audio with nine speakers.
For the 2012 Grand-Am season, Chevrolet was the first to unveil it's new DPG3 bodywork. This Corvette body kit will be built by Pratt & Miller and will be sold to customer teams. These body kits will fit on any existing Coyote, Riley, or Dallara chassis. This Corvette DP will be powered by a 5.0L V8 making 530BHP @ 7,000rpms and 450ft-lbs at 5,500rpms. 
Stingray Atlantic Concept
Chevyt presented a trio of Corvette Stingray concepts. Many of the items fitted to the cars are available through the Chevrolet Accessories and Chevrolet Performance catalogs. Designed with cruising in mind, the Stingray Atlantic convertible concept features stunning Blade Silver paint, while the Stingray Pacific concept is more race-inspired and the Stingray Gran Tourismo was created to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Gran Tourismo video game.

C7-Era Corvette Concepts

No C7-Era Concept cars exist.

C8-Era Corvette Concepts

No C8-Era Concept cars exist.

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