1973 Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor

Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet XP-882 Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet XP-882 Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette 4 Rotors, 1973
Chevrolet Corvette 4 Rotors, 1973
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1973 Corvette 4-Rotors / 1976 AeroVette Mid-Engine Prototype
Representing another Corvette, this concept wins a place on the list because of its powertrain choice, a four-rotor Wankel, and its stunning mid-engine styling. The car debuted at the Paris Auto Salon in 1973, during a period where American performance was being stifled by the twin evils of restrictive insurance practices and the first Arab oil embargo. At the time, performance enthusiasts didn’t have much to be enthusiastic about as engine compression ratios were coming down and quarter-mile times were going up.

Into this landscape came the Corvette Four-Rotor. Aggressively styled, the design features radical aerodynamics and gull-wing doors. Horsepower output from the four-rotor Wankel engine was said to be considerable. Many elements of the design were considered for production, but nearly all were deemed too expensive or impractical. Had GM made a different choice, perhaps Chevrolet would have fielded something as arresting as the original Lamborghini Countach LP4000.

In subsequent years in a move that smacks of "what have you done for me lately," GM swapped out the Wankel for a small-block V-8 and renamed the car "AeroVette".

The AeroVette is currently part of The GM Historical Collection.

www.thecarconnection.com


The same XP-882 that had been shown in New York in 1970 served as the basis for this Wankel motor prototype. Under Bill Mitchell, Henry Haga was responsible for it’s design. Called the "Four-Rotor Car", it was arguably more stunning than the Two-Rotor XP-897GT, that appeared a bit later in 1972. Built on the first XP-882 chassis under the aegis of company design chief Bill Mitchell, it carried a pair of GM's experimental two-rotor engines bolted together into a 420 horsepower "super Wankel." A Corvette-like face and obvious high performance potential were taken as strong suggestions that GM was brewing a radical new Corvette for the late Seventies or early Eighties.

GM design chief Bill Mitchell kept its original lines intact, however — not that there was reason to fiddle. Charles Jordan oversaw the design, which included radical bifold gullwing doors, and deformable plastic body-colored nose and tail sections which are common today, but revolutionary in the mid-1970's. The sterling silver paint, with silver leather interior and forged alloy turbine wheels later seen on the 1978 Corvette Indy Pace Car, gave the Corvette a space craft like appearance unmatched by any other advanced sports car. The interior was more fully engineered than the show-car norm, another indication this model was indeed a serious production prospect.

The car debuted at the Paris Auto Salon in 1973, during a period where American performance was being stifled by the twin evils of restrictive insurance practices and the first Arab oil embargo. At the time, performance enthusiasts didn’t have much to be enthusiastic about as engine compression ratios were coming down and quarter-mile times were going up.

Bill Mitchell, the ardent Corvette styling department magnate, gave the car a new life by removing the Wankel engine and reinstalling a small-block Chevrolet V8 and christening it the AeroVette. A stunningly dramatic looking car, it was promoted as the new 4th generation Corvette for 1980, but never saw series production...

The AeroVette is currently part of The GM Historical Collection.

Mario van Ginneken - www.corvettes.nl


Назначение этого автомобиля было определено заранее, причем очень строго: Chevrolet AeroVette - исключительно экспериментальный шоу-кар. И поэтому никто, глядя на него, не должен сомневаться в том, что в обозримом будущем на всех автомобилях Corvette сохранится классическая компоновочная схема: двигатель спереди, а привод - на задние колеса. Дело в том, что в AeroVette 6,5-литровый двигатель V8 разместили поперечно в базе, за спинками сидений.

На момент же выставочной премьеры машины, на Парижском автосалоне осенью 1973 года, здесь стоял четырехсекционный роторный двигатель объемом 4 литра. Кстати, в том же году, двумя неделями раньше, во Франкфурте был показан другой Corvette, тоже оснащенный роторным двигателем Ванкеля, но с двумя рабочими секциями (роторами).

В самом названии AeroVette отражено то, что автомобиль подвергся серьезной аэродинамической проработке. После многочисленных испытаний в аэродинамической трубе удалось достичь невиданного по тем временам для машин такого класса значения коэффициента аэродинамического сопротивления: 0,325. Автомобиль был очень низким - 108 см. Его длина составляла 479, а ширина - 182 см. Все кузовные панели изготовлены из стекловолокна.

AeroVette был оснащен независимыми подвесками и дисковыми тормозами на всех колесах.

АВТОРЕВЮ N 3 (142) 1997 "НЕЗНАКОМЫЙ CORVETTE"
Автомобили марки Chevrolet
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1, 1954 Chevrolet Corvair, 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Coupe, 1954 Chevrolet Nomad, 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne, 1956 Chevrolet Impala Show Car, 1956 Chevrolet SR-2, 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Coupé (Ghia Aigle), 1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS, 1957 Chevrolet Q Corvette XP-84, 1958 Chevrolet Corvette XP-700, 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 1959 Chevrolet Impala, 1960 Chevrolet CERV I, 1960 Chevrolet Corvair, 1960 Chevrolet Corvair Coupe Speciale (Pininfarina), 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Sebring Spyder, 1961 Chevrolet Corvette Kelly (Vignale), 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT, 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza SS, 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Super Spyder, 1962 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Prototype XP-720 , 1962 Chevrolet Mako Shark, 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Testudo (Bertone), 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, 1963 Chevrolet Rondine (Pininfarina), 1963 Chevrolet Wedge Corvette, 1964 Chevrolet Chevy II Super Nova, 1964 Chevrolet Corvette XP-819 Rear Engine, 1965 Chevrolet Mako Shark II, 1965 Chevrolet Turbo Titan III, 1967 Chevrolet Astro I, 1968 Chevrolet Astro II (XP-880), 1968 Chevrolet AstroVette, 1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3, 1969 Chevrolet Astro III, 1969 Chevrolet Manta Ray, 1969 Chevrolet XP-882, 1970 Chevrolet Scirocco Showcar, 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Four Rotor, 1973 Chevrolet XP-895 Reynolds, 1973 Chevrolet XP-897GT Two-Rotor (Pininfarina), 1973 Chevrolet XP-898, 1974 Chevrolet Mulsanne Showcar, 1976 Chevrolet AeroVette, 1983 Chevrolet Corvette C4, 1984 Chevrolet Citation IV, 1984 Chevrolet Ramarro (Bertone), 1986 Chevrolet Corvette Indy, 1987 Chevrolet Aero 2003A, 1987 Chevrolet Blazer XT-1, 1987 Chevrolet Express, 1988 Chevrolet Venture, 1989 Chevrolet California IROC Camaro, 1989 Chevrolet XT-2, 1990 Chevrolet CERV III, 1990 Chevrolet Corvette Nivola (Bertone), 1992 Chevrolet Concept Monte Carlo, 1992 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray III, 1992 Chevrolet Lumina Sizigi, 1993 Chevrolet Highlander, 1998 Chevrolet Monte-Carlo Intimidator, 1999 Chevrolet Nomad, 1999 Chevrolet Tandem 2000, 1999 Chevrolet Triax, 2000 Chevrolet Avalanche, 2000 Chevrolet SSR, 2000 Chevrolet Traverse, 2001 Chevrolet Borrego, 2001 Chevrolet Sabia, 2002 Chevrolet Bel Air, 2002 Chevrolet Journey, 2003 Chevrolet Cheyenne, 2003 Chevrolet Equinox, 2003 Chevrolet SS, 2004 Chevrolet M3X, 2004 Chevrolet Nomad, 2004 Chevrolet S3X, 2005 Chevrolet T2X, 2006 Chevrolet Camaro, 2006 Chevrolet Prisma Y, 2006 Chevrolet Sequel, 2006 Chevrolet WTCC Ultra, 2007 Chevrolet Beat, 2007 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, 2007 Chevrolet Groove, 2007 Chevrolet Trax, 2007 Chevrolet Volt, 2008 Chevrolet GPiX, 2008 Chevrolet Orlando, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 2010 Chevrolet Aveo RS Concept, 2010 Chevrolet Volt MPV5 Electric, 2011 Chevrolet Colorado, 2011 Chevrolet Colorado Rally, 2011 Chevrolet Mi-ray, 2012 Chevrolet Code 130R, 2012 Chevrolet Tru 140S, 2014 Chevrolet Adra, 2014 Chevrolet Niva, 2015 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 2015 Chevrolet FNR, 2017 Chevrolet FNR-X Concept, 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray, 2022 Chevrolet FNR-XE
Комментарии
Grant Connor
27 января 2009 г.
For a paper model of this car see Motor Trend magazine January 1974.
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