1990 Chevrolet Corvette CERV III Experimental Coupe

The Corvette CERV III was a final and valiant attempt to put a mid-engined Corvette coupe into production. The Corvette Indy Concept, introduced just a few years before, had also been a mid-engine design. The Corvette Indy Concept was basically a rolling showpiece, but the CERV III was designed as an engineering test bed that GM dubbed a '200 mph safety machine.' This super-performance sports car had all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering which aided it to compensate for such negative influences on the vehicle as cross-winds, irregular road surfaces, and uneven traction conditions. It could automatically compensate for slippery surfaces, wet or dry.

Along with technological innovations, the CERVIII was a performance machine. Introduced at the 1990 Detroit North American International Auto Show, it was bodied in carbon fiber, Nomex and Kevlar, reinforced with aluminum honeycomb. Combined, these elements formed a one-piece composite unit with a very low drag coefficient of 0.277 Cd. It previewed the roof shape and some other styling elements of what would eventually become the fifth-generation (C5) Corvette.

Built by GM Corporate Engineering, with Lotus consultation, it retained a long tail to accommodate the Lotus-tuned 650 horsepower transverse mid-mounted, twin-Garett turbocharged, quad-cam 5.7-liter prototype aluminum-block V-8 and had a rounded nose and front fender shapes that would ultimately influence the look of that next Corvette.

Sending the power to all four wheels was a six-speed transmission. The gearbox was actually two transmissions, a three-speed HydraMatic unit and a custom two-speed transmission. Shifting was automatically controlled by a computer. To keep the car in the driver's control, each wheel was equipped with dual disc brakes. Power was sent to all four wheels through advanced viscous couplings. Its low-drag (0.277 Cd) aluminum-honeycomb-reinforced carbon fiber, Nomex and Kevlar body featured Lamborghini-type 'scissors' doors (which housed safety 'fuel cell' gas tanks), its active suspension kept it flat during hard braking and cornering, and its computer-controlled rear steering tightened its turning circle at low speeds, stabilized higher-speed cornering and compensated for crosswinds.

CERV III's primary mission was to publicly preview and internally sell the idea of an ME C5 Corvette. GM was hurting financially, and the C5 Corvette was canceled, and then eventually revived as a major improvement over the C4 - but conventional front-engine.

The CERV III never made it past the experimental stage and remained a concept.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2018