Rare mid-engined Corvette, that's also not a v8

Hey fellow car enthusiasts 👋 

Today we’re talking about a Rare American car.

In fact, it’s so rare that it only ended up as a concept car.

But it’s sick!!
3 min read

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Now onto today’s issue - it’s about the 1973 Chevrolet Corvette XP-897 GT

First of all, the basics:

• 180 horsepower

• Automatic gearbox

• Didn’t make it to production

Why is it special?

The engine: This car served as a platform for General Motors to experiment with rotary engine technology.

Mid-Engine Configuration: Mid-engine layouts were unusual for a Corvettes at the time. However, design offered several advantages such as improved weight distribution & handling characteristics.

Rare Prototype: Only two XP-897 GT prototypes were ever constructed.

Rescued from the Crusher: After GM abandoned the rotary engine program, they decided to crush the car.
However, it was rescued by British Corvette enthusiast Tom Falconer.

Fun fact: there’s a YouTube video from the National Corvette Museum in the US. Tom Falconer loaned them the car 4 years ago.

What’s unique about rotary engines?

Compact and Lightweight: they’re smaller & lighter than traditional piston engines of equivalent displacement, hence reducing the overall weight of the vehicle.

Fewer Moving Parts: They lacked items like a complex valvetrain, which reduced maintenance requirements and increased reliability. Fewer parts meant simpler assembly and potentially lower manufacturing costs.

Smooth Operation: The rotary motion of the engine design led to reduced vibrations, offering a more refined and comfortable driving experience.

High Power-to-Weight Ratio: They could produce a significant amount of power for their compact size.

Compact Design for Packaging: The compact size and design of the rotary engine made it easier to package in various vehicle layouts. This was one reason GM chose to use a mid-engine configuration.

So why didn’t it work out??

There were challenges associated with rotary engines, including relatively higher fuel consumption and potential difficulties in meeting emissions standards.

Ultimately, these challenges, along with the 1973 oil crisis, led to the discontinuation of GM's involvement with rotary engines, and the technology did not become mainstream in the automotive industry.

Nonetheless, the XP-897 GT concept remains a unique and significant example of GM's exploration of this innovative engine technology.

And here’s a video of how a rotary Corvette sounds like

So yeah, that’s today’s issue.

Bit of a trip down memory lane.

Hope you learned something 🙂 

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Cheers,
- the RCM team