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

1964 Corvette CERV II


CERV stands for Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle. The CERV II often gets confused with theGS-II(b), which was Frank Winchell’s car. 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, even though Zora had Bunkie Knuden's support (he was Chevrolet’s General Manager). Anyway, Zora got one car built and he packed it with the technologies he thought would make a good race car.

Although the original (clay) design looked like the Grand Sport II(b), the chassis wasn't the same. It was more like the Ford GT-40. It was a monocoque with steel subframe to carry the suspension and engine. The original power plant was the 377 cubic inch aluminum small block. Cross ram 58 mm Weber carburetors and a 10.8 compression ratio were planned but I think they finally settled on the Hilborn fuel injection. Power output would have been in the 500 range. I don't know how long that engine lasted but in its latter days the car was fitted with a big block. Karl Ludvigsen reported on a drive he had in the car (Motor Trend, November, 1970) when it apparently had a ZL-1 style all aluminum engine. I don't know if that one stayed with the car, either.

The engineering of the drive system and torque converter arrangement was handed over to GM's engineering staff. This was the first time that anyone had tried to design a variable power delivery to each end of the car, and which would vary according to vehicle speeds. They must have succeeded, because it was reported that the car would do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds or over 180 MPH while still achieving 0-60 in under 5 seconds.





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