The Real Story Behind Mid-Engine Corvette

The 2020 C8 Corvette is upon us. What you might not know is that the mid-engine Corvette has been cancelled many times. Chevrolet has a long history with mid-engine prototype cars reaching back all the way to the late 50s starting with Zora Arkus Duntov who is the father of the Corvette. His work started with the CERV I prototype car and he continued to push for a mid-engine vehicle throughout his career.

This video covers the story of the prototypes and looks at what we can expect at the reveal of the brand new Stingray Corvette in Tustin.

CORRECTION: I should have said "Oldsmobile Toronado" not "Pontiac Tornado"

References:
References







1986 Indy corvette



Footage:



CERV II






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[mongolknglgc]

Wow. 1960. The corvette was able to go 200mph that will ahead of its time.

[MCRN_Hammurabi]

I’m so excited for the new C8 Corvette. Can’t wait to configure one

[CarsSimplified]

A very nicely compiled bit of history! I enjoyed the video and I'm looking forward to the live stream!

[rudythecuban]

For your information Pontiac never made a Tornado
However Cadillac El Dorado shared a platform with the “Oldsmobile TORONADO” which was front wheel drive as well as the Caddy.
Aside of that, pretty cool video.

[JaspreetSinghArtist]

younger buyer will buy used c7 when price may drop due to c8 .

[primary]

"Chevy is looking for a younger buyer." Since when could young people ever afford a corvette????

[McBeamer]

The CERV-III is absolutely gorgeous! But what were they thinking by merging two transmissions instead of making a transaxle with a drive shaft and 3 differentials?

[pieyield]

He protecc
He attacc
But most importantly
The corvette comes in blacc

[keith]

I predict the C8 Corvette will have 2 seats.

[markofexcellence]

The CERV III has to be one of the most awesome cars of all time. I get an F1 vibe from it. I suspect it could have done great things. So sad it never made it into production.

[drewlovelyhell]

This is *exactly* what I was searching for.
The switch to an MR Corvette is really surprising and interesting to me.
I had no idea that there was so much history to the idea.

[brianhudgins]

Amazing amount of research and preparation. We'll done! And Thank You.

[boostoshi]

Thank you for the history lesson, there are morons out there that don't believe that Zora's mid engine design was the true path for the Corvette. So glad you threw that argument into the trash. Can't wait to see the reveal later today!

[LarsAgerbk]

Great video. Your best one yet! The perfect build up for the reveal. So excited for tomorrow!

[Garage]

Fantastic video, Eric! I didn't know a lot of these facts. So many cool Corvette's that never were! Honestly gets me so hype it's finally happening.
Also, I was wondering when you were going to point out the Devel style wing like function of some of the prototypes, hah. GM figured it out decades ago.

[shadyshinichiJZ]

These car companies want a younger base lol. Yet the average US millenials (24-38 year old) income is roughly $41k. This car will be $70k? 😂 Should work out perfectly.

[DirtRoadBoyz]

Great video! The Corvette history lesson was awesome.

[Hammerhead]

At this point in time they really had no other choice but to go mid-engined with the vette, the amount of power they put out makes them difficult and dangerous to drive in the traditional front engine rear drive layout unless you mount a huge wing on the rear end like they've been doing for the last ten years.


The Cerv3 looks like a street version of the Corvette GTP car that was raced in IMSA at the time.

[Dequanshaunson_Newport_Therd]

Wow revmatchtv, good video! It’s good to know the history about this before the reveal tonight😎

[JJ_ExMachina]

Hey Eric, loved the video, one of your best so far.


I am a sucker for educational content. Even if I have read or seen most of the information somewhere else at some point in my life, it is great to have it all compiled in one video. Plus it's great content to see before the reveal of the C8 mid engine car.