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Here's the story...
It was a great day for Corvette fans. When the crowds piled into the New York Auto Show on April 2, 1970, they had no idea what Chevrolet was proposing as the next Corvette. The XP-882 Mid-Engine Experimental Corvette had almost everything a Vette lover would want... big-block power, huge wheels and tires, exotic suspension, drop-dead looks, and the engine located in the middle of the car, exactly where an exotic car engine should be.
But we all know how the story ended; they didn't come close to making the car. Forward thinking just couldn't overcome bad timing. Duntov's design team started working out the mechanical challenges for the XP-882 in 1968. Styling penned up a new look that screamed "Corvette!" It was crisp, edgy, modern, yet it "looked" like a Corvette.
New Chevy General Manager John Z. DeLorean stopped work on the XP-882 to pursue making Corvettes based on the new, inexpensive Camaro chassis. DeLorean met with fierce resistance from styling, engineering, and sales to NOT take the car in that direction. So the project was stopped in 1969 and was warehoused until 1970. When Ford announced a similar mid-engine project with DeTomaso, DeLorean resurrected the XP-882 and had it finished for the show car circuit. Because there were no press releases, everyone was stunned. The car magazines were all over it, initiating a feeding frenzy of speculation.
Mid-engine cars were very exotic in the '60s. Not only was the engine midship located, but it was transverse mounted. By using the front-wheel drive, automatic transmission from an Olds Toronado, Duntov was able to quickly get a working prototype. Suspension and brakes were obviously independent and disc. Wheels were spun-aluminum, with vent slots, and tires were E60x15 on the front and G60x15 on the rear. The interior of the car was basic prototype fashion, no frills and no real design at that point. The XP-882 was never officially tested for speed and performance.
Many other Corvette show cars have been more thought out than the XP-882, but the car was rushed into service and not fully developed like show cars of the '60s. But the timing couldn't have been worse for an all-new Corvette. The new platform was going to be expensive to make, requiring new transmission, suspension, body, and interior parts. Actual production wouldn't have started until '72 or '73, just in time for the first Arab oil embargo. Also in the brew was a GM internal push to develop a Wankel-engined prototype, so the second XP-882 chassis was made into the 1973 4-Rotor Aerovette.
All things considered, the XP-882 didn't have a chance, but it sure was exciting.
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