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Here's the story:
lIlustrated Corvette Series No. 36 - 1968 Astro II Mid-Engine
Experimental Corvette
Almost from the beginning,
racing has made the Corvette a living legend. Sports car development in
the 1960s was explosive, and at the cutting edge was the Ford GT40 and
the Chevrolet-backed Chaparral, both using a mid-engine layout. The
Astro II (XP-880) was the first of several experimental, mid-engine
Corvettes that kicked off years of exotic sports car anticipation.
Ford
started the race by first offering a street version of their GT40,
called "Mark III" and then by unveiling the "Mach 2" experimental
mid-engine car in May 1967. Designers at Chevrolet went right to work
on their own version of a mid-engine Corvette. After 11 months, the
Astro II was shown, immediately initiating a blizzard of speculation
asking the question, "Is this the next Vette?"
By using
off-the-shelf parts, the designers were able to deliver the car
quickly, and at a relatively low cost. However, because of a lack of
serious commitment by Chevrolet, the car was made using an out of
production, '63 Pontiac Tempest, two-speed transaxle. Ford, on the
other hand, had a race-proven, four-speed manual gear box for the Mach
2. The big question was, if pushed into production, would a two-speed
automatic Corvette be taken seriously. Probably not.
Despite
its built-in design weakness, the Astro II was a very interesting
effort. It certainly looked exotic and screamed "Corvette" with its
body styling. The Astro II used a central backbone frame and thick
doors that housed safety beams. The 20-gallon fuel cell was located in
the center of the frame. The engine, suspension and drivetrain were all
attached to the central frame. With a 427 engine, this made the car
more like a Can-Am racer than a street car. Even with production Camaro
and Corvette suspension parts, and performance street tires, the Astro
II generated 1.0 g of cornering grip. This was part of the magic of a
mid-engine sports car. Astro II weighed in at 3,300 pounds, 300 less
than a production Corvette, yet had almost the same external dimensions.
While the
Astro II was being track tested in Spring 1968, Duntov and his crew
were busy working on their solution to the transaxle problem, the
stunning XP-882. This one almost made it to the showroom.
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