Historic Corvette Prototypes Headline Upcoming Amelia Island Concourse

To celebrate the new mid-engined Chevrolet C8 Corvette, the folks at Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance are doing something very special for the 25th annual show on March 8. Taking center stage will be a collection of historic mid-engined Corvette experimental vehicles from the 1950s through to the 1990s.

Chief among these will be the 1964 GS IIB ‘research vehicle’, an aerodynamic marvel and prototype race car, which will mark the vehicle’s first appearance outside the Chaparral Gallery of the Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas. It was originally tested there at Rattlesnake Raceway before remaining at Chaparral’s facilities.

“Having a historically significant car at The Amelia that’s never been seen in a concours before is a dream for us,” says Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the Concours. “Thanks to Chaparral and the Petroleum Museum, that dream has come true.”

But the cars joining the GS IIB are also very rare and unique prototypes. The CERV I, CERV II and CERV III (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) from 1959, 1964 and 1990, the Corvette XP-819, the rotary-engined XP-895 and XP-897 GT, the Aerovette and the Corvette Indy will also be on display. All to show that putting the engine in the back of the Corvette was, perhaps, inevitable.

*Images courtesy of General Motors and Hemmings