The XP-819 was a one-off

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

, developed by

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

in 1965, to test a rear engine configuration for the

Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

Design

The body was designed by

Larry Shinoda Lawrence Kiyoshi (Larry) Shinoda (March 25, 1930 – November 13, 1997) was a noted American automotive designer who was best known for his work on the Chevrolet Corvette and Ford Mustang. Early life and internment He was born in Los Angeles, ...

, designer of the 1963 Sting Ray Split Window

Coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

and the CERV-1. There are styling cues in XP-819 that later appeared in Shinoda's famed 1968 "Sting Ray" design. A reverse rotation

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, engine was factory-installed in the car, so the two-speed

transaxle A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the ...

would operate properly. The entire

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

, and steering are custom made components unique to this car. Some of these parts also found their way to later production cars.

History

After one of the testing engineers had an accident testing the car, the XP-819 was slated for demolition.Corvette XP-819, un raro prototipo en Amelia Island’s Concours d’Elegance
by Javier Alvarez on Motor Pasion, 7 Jan 2012 However, racer and performance driver

Smokey Yunick Henry "Smokey" Yunick (May 25, 1923 – May 9, 2001) was an American professional stock car racing crew chief, owner, driver, engineer, engine builder, and car designer as well as being a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps in World W ...

requested this car as the basis for a new race car design. Smokey never completed the racer and later sold the XP-819 to Steve Tate, a General Motors dealer from

Gallatin, Missouri Gallatin is a city in Daviess County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,821 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Daviess County. History The territory now known as the county of Daviess, was initially inhabited by Sacs, Foxes ...

.Best Damn Garage in Town, Henry Yunick. . When purchased, the car had been cut into several pieces and was almost unidentifiable. Had Tate not spotted the "XP" designation on the windshield

Vehicle Identification Number A vehicle identification number (VIN) (also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters ...

, the car might never have been seen again. On August 17, 2002, Mid America Motorworks in

Effingham, Illinois Effingham is a city in and the county seat of Effingham County, Illinois, Effingham County, Illinois, United States. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolita ...

, added the XP–819 to the "MY Garage Collection". It is undergoing a complete restoration at the Mid America Motorworks’ Installation & Restyling Center, with an estimated completion date sometime in 2014.

References

{{Chevrolet vehicles Chevrolet Corvette XP-819