Two innovative advanced Corvette concept cars were seen recently at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

(Photo by Chris Vopat)

We brought you the story of Buick GNXs on display, one as part of the museum’s Totally Awesome! exhibition of cars from the ’80s and ’90s, the other, a 290-mile example, which is presented in The Vault. The first of the Corvette concept cars is the 1986 Corvette Indy, a mid-engined show car that revealed numerous technological advancements. It, too, is part of the Totally Awesome! exhibition.

The second, which is not on display and can only be seen here, is the legendary Corvette Aerovette (earlier known as the 4-Rotor when it was rotary powered), The Aerovette nearly became the first mid-engine production Corvette.

The Aerovette concept car was spotted covered in the shop at the Petersen Automotive Museum. (Photo by Chris Vopat)

Corvette With Indy Power

The Corvette Indy was introduced in 1986. The body was made of Kevlar and carbon fiber. It had some of the same design elements later seen on a number of GM vehicles. The nose made it to the four-gen Camaro in 1993. The huge, deep, instrument panel which placed the driver far back in the vehicle made it to the fourth-gen F-bodies, the dustbuster minivans ,and later the Pontiac Aztek.

Now-retired Corvette designer Tom Peters, under the direction of  GM Design Vice President Chuck Jordan, worked on the Indy and the 2020 production mid-engine Corvette. There’s a remarkable similarity between the large side scoops on the Indy and the 2020 Stingray.

The Corvette Indy is powered by a Lotus-developed four-valve-per-cylinder V8 producing 600 horsepower. A fiberglass version of the Indy also appeared with the 1990 ZR1’s LT5 engine making 380 horsepower.

The Indy has scissor doors and wheels that resemble those of the 1988 production Corvette. Displays on the door handles control the climate and entertainment systems, and there is a rearview camera and navigation system on the instrument panel — heady stuff in the second Reagan term.

Aerovette Almost Made It

The Aerovette, one of several mid-engine proposals, was so advanced that it had the capability to be all-wheel-drive in production form, with all-wheel-steering optional, decades before the latter was seen on any showroom vehicle. Both of these advancements were patented by legendary Corvette Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov.

Before it was the Aerovette with a traditional small-block behind the driver, it was developed as the 4-Rotor. This version was tied to GM’s plans to bring the Wankel rotary engine into production in its small cars (the Vega being the first).

GM had the North American rights to the rotary engine and GM President Ed Cole, the father of Rochester fuel injection, the small-block Chevy and the catalytic converter, was certain the rotary would be a huge part of the success of Chevrolet in the compact car field. He directly tied the rotary engine to the production of a mid-engine Corvette.

First came the Corvette 2-Rotor, which was fairly light (2,600 lbs) and favored by Chevrolet’s leader at the time, John Z. DeLorean, for a 1975 introduction. Duntov felt this engine was better-suited to the Vega. The Two-Rotor Corvette’s performance was deemed inadequate, roughly that of the 1953 Corvette with a six-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. It was also said the engine created enough heat in the Corvette’s cockpit to qualify as a sauna.

Then came the car you see here, first introduced as the Corvette 4-Rotor. Power was more than adequate — in production form, the 4-Rotor powerplant was said to be capable of 485 horsepower. That was a huge number in an era where the top engines typically made around 225-275 net ponies.

The main issue was the inability of the 4-rotor engine to meet new and upcoming emissions regulations. Oil consumption was also a major concern. It is said GM spent $50 billion on Wankel engine development before plans for it were scuttled.

Ultimately, the car was fitted with a 400-inch small-block and renamed Aerovette. It was the darling of the show circuit and with Corvette owners. Production seemed imminent. But a factory mid-engine Corvette was not to be —yet.

Despite declining horsepower and performance, sales of the production front-engine Corvette exploded starting in 1973. It set sales records in 1976, ’77 and ’79. GM decided to milk the ’68 Corvette design (with its 1963 chassis) through the 1982 model year. Production peaked at 53,807 in 1979.

There would be other advanced Corvette concept cars between 1986 and 2020, but these two became legends.