Blast from the Past: Chevrolet’s Stunning 1973 Aerovette Concept

How do you replace a motoring icon? In the years leading up to 1968, U.S. automaker Chevrolet was dealing with this very problem with their venerable Corvette. The first and second generation Corvettes, designed by Harley Earl and Larry Shinoda respectively, were stylish and innovative creations that drew countless fans from the automotive community.

The answer lies, in part, with the Aerovette: a mostly forgotten concept that made just two auto show appearances before being relegated to the GM Heritage Museum.

In the late ‘60s, GM engineer Zora Arkus Duntov and his team were toying with the XP-882, a mid-engined design and engineering exercise built on Oldsmobile Tornado underpinnings. Though fascinating from a design and engineering standpoint, Chevy General Manager John DeLorean saw no future for the XP-882 and canceled the project in 1969. It was simply too expensive and too impractical for the impending 1970s America.

When Ford announced it would be selling the Italian designed / American engined De Tomaso Pantera at its Lincoln / Mercury dealerships in 1970, DeLorean hit the roof. He immediately ordered Duntov and GM designer Charles Jordan to dust off the XP-882 and ready it for the New York Auto Show.

Renamed the Aerovette, the XP-882 was a revolution. After being re-engined for the 1973 Paris Auto Salon, the Aerovette now featured four transversely mounted Wankel rotaries, a full five years before they would be popularized in the United States by Mazda’s RX-7. Beneath that sleek glass fibre skin was a steel and aluminium birdcage that was both lightweight and strong.

Innovative features abound such as the bi-fold gullwing doors, V-shaped front windscreen and deformable plastic bumpers. Pop up headlamps, a fully independent coil spring suspension and four wheel disc brakes were also incorporated into the design.

Inside, a digital instrument panel displayed speed and engine rpm, while a switchable screen could show fuel, water temperature, oil pressure or voltage. A second digital display in the centre console could display the date, time and radio station as well as the elapsed time in minute or seconds for time trials.

Though the Aerovette / XP-882 never progressed beyond the concept stage, its design was highly influential in the third generation (C3) Corvette. Many of its ingenious design features would find their way into production cars; though in some cases this process took as long as then years(!).

So there you have it. The Aerovette: a car that was ten years ahead of its time but doomed by the ‘70s oil crisis. Gone, but hopefully, never forgotten.

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VIDEO: Ferrari F430 Crashes and Goes up in Flames in Romania

A Ferrari F430 went from supercar to 'hotrod' and eventually to an unsalvageable wreck when a driver in Romania lost control of the Prancing Horse model colliding with two oncoming cars and ending up in a ditch. Luckily, the driver and the passenger managed to get out of the F430 before the supercar went up in flames. Shock aside, the passengers of the two other cars were not hurt in the accident. According to the Romanian media reports, the driver of the F430 was fined 180 Leu which comes to around $59 or €43 at today's exchange rates. Watch the video after the jump.

VW BlueSport Roadster: 30 New High Res Photos of Mid-Engined, RWD Sportscar

If you want any more proof that Volkswagen's BlueSport roadster concept is heading towards production, just consider the fact that the German firm has not only given the car an internal development code name but it also invited a number of journalists to take the one-off concept for a quick test drive. Furthermore, VW has published a brand new photo album of the car on the road, that you can check out in all its high-res glory after the jump.

Even though VW officials may not publicly admit it, the mid-engined, rear-wheel drive BlueSport roadster that was revealed for the first time at this year's Detroit Show, is essentially a low-cost alternative to the Porsche Boxster.

"The two-seater is still a concept, but as a production car it would have the best talents for turning the segment of compact, genuine sports cars upside down," said VW in a statement. "That is because this roadster is sporty, sustainable and affordable all at once – a people's car and a sports car for a new era."

Developed with a 'back to basics' approach, the concept version of the 3.99 meter long BlueSport roadster is powered by a 2.0-liter TDI turbocharged diesel engine that cranks out 180HP and 350Nm or 258.2-lbs/ft of torque which is transferred to the rear axle through a 6-speed dual clutch transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel.

With the 180HP 2.0 TDI, the soft-top roadster that weighs in at less than 1,200kg (2,645-lbs), can sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62mph) in about 6.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 226km/h or 141mph. Volkswagen claims that the two-seater roadster can deliver an average fuel consumption of just 4.3 liters per 100km (54.7mpg US). In combination with the 50-liter tank, the car's theoretical range is greater than 1,150 kilometers or 715-miles.

If, or rather when the Roadster enters production, expect to see an array of turbocharged gasoline (TSI) and diesel (TDI) engines that will most likely include the 160HP 2.0 TDI, the 1.4 TSI with 122HP as well as the Scirocco R's 265HP 2.0 TSI.

The German firm promises that in spite of the car's sporty credentials, the roadster still offers a respectable level of everyday utility. In the cargo area under the front hood, the Concept BlueSport can stow 112 liters of luggage while the rear trunk handle an additional 70 liters of cargo. Altogether that makes 182 liters or 20% more space than what the Mazda MX-5 / Miata offers (150 liters).

If all goes well and the BlueSport Roadster receives the final green light for production, the first cars could arrive at VW showrooms around late 2012.

VIDEO: Giga Replica of 1950's Dodge Power Wagon, 64 Times the Original Size!

So what do you do when you have a ton of oil money, plenty of imagination and a passion for anything on four-wheels? Well, for starters, you go and buy any type of car your heart desires. Been their, done that. So what's next? The answer to that question for Seikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan from the United Arab Emirates who is also known as the 'Rainbow Sheikh', due to the fact that he once bought a fleet of Mercedes-Benz in every color of the rainbow, was to build a colossal working replica of a 1950's Dodge Power Wagon.

Created in the mid 1990s, this replica is an astonishing 64 times the original size and weighs in at about 50 tons! It is said to be the largest car/truck in the world. It's so big that it houses four large, air conditioned bedrooms, a living room and bathrooms. In fact it even has a 'terrace' in the pick-up bed! Although it was not designed to hit the road (apparently...) it does come with a 300HP GM diesel engine that helps it move around on its own. The video is from Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld television series that aired on BBC back in the mid 1990s.

A Video Tour of the Porsche Classic Workshop

Porsche Classic is a specialized workshop owned by the German automaker, responsible for repairing, servicing and even restoring classic vehicles, like this 1973 911 T Coupe. Every year, a team of 30 highly trained specialists work on around 250 cars, keeping Porsche's heritage alive. According to the Stuttgart-based company, more than 70 per cent of all Porsches ever built are still on the roads today, which is pretty impressive if you think about it. Video follows after the break.

Back to the Future: Formula One Racecar Lapping the Nürburgring Circuit in 1967

The Nürburgring circuit is called “The Green Hell” for a good reason. Measuring 24.4 km (15.2 miles) in today’s combined version that uses a part of the Formula 1 track, it’s not an easy circuit to master. Complete a fast lap was even more difficult in the late ’60, when Formula 1 was nowhere near the high-tech parade it represents now. Back then, fearless drivers raced cars with skinny tires that had very few, if any safety features and weren't exactly easy to drive.

Check out the video after the break to see 1967 Formula 1 car running the Green Hell. At the time, the Nordschleife measured 22.8 km (14.2 miles) and had 174 turns.

New Lancia Stratos: Full Tech Specs and Performance Figures Plus Presentation Video

The PR people behind the New Stratos project continue to slowly reveal additional information about Pininfarina's one-off supercar. This time they released the full tech specs and performance figures.

Based on Ferrari F430 Scuderia underpinnings, the retrotastic Stratos packs a considerable punch. It measures 4.1 meters in length and tips the scales at just 1.247 kg (2.749 pounds) with the weight distributed 44% in the front and 56% at the rear. Power-to-weight ratio is 2.3 kg/hp, thanks to the 4.3-liter V8 engine, which churns out 540 hp and over 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. That’s 30 ponies more than the Scuderia’s stock powerplant.

The New Stratos rides on 19-inch alloys, shod in 265/30 front and 315/30 rear Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. Stopping power is provided by 398 mm front and 350 mm rear Brembo brakes.

Pininfarina’s test team wasn’t able to properly put the new car through its paces due to bad weather, so the performance figures announced are preliminary. Even so, they’re pretty amazing.

The sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) is claimed to be just 3.3 seconds and, pushed further, the Stratos can reach 200 km/h (124 mph) in an equally impressive 9.7 seconds. The engineers plan to introduce a new rear axle, which will reduce top speed to 274 km/h (170 mph), but will also further improve acceleration values.

For the complete spec sheet check out our gallery below.

Concept Flashback: Alfa Romeo’s 1996 Nuvola Prototipo V6 Sports Coupe

Welcome to the story of the Alfa Romeo Nuvola Prototipo, one of the most gripping concepts to wear the famous Visconti Serpent badges in the past two decades. Unveiled for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in 1996, the Nuvola Prototipo was named after Tazio Nuvolari, the legendary Italian motorcycle and racecar driver who competed for Alfa in the 1930s.

The Nuvola had all the essential ingredients of a proper Alfa Romeo sports coupe - a beautifully crafted body and interior, classic proportions, a dedicated chassis and enough power to put a smile on your face.

Of course we would have preferred a rear-wheel drive setup, but its four wheel drive layout is much less of a compromise (for a sports car) than if power was transferred exclusively to the front axle.

Unlike modern days Alfas that are built around less exciting (8c Competizione excluded) hardware pulled out of the Fiat Group’s parts bin, the Nuvola made use of a separate, tubular spaceframe to which the mechanical components were attached. The designers' plan was to use the same architecture on different bodies to cover various niches.

"A welded high strength steel tubing spaceframe brings the benefits of lightness, high torsional rigidity, excellent ride quality and maximum passenger protection as well as low cost of manufactures," Alfa said at the time.

Power came from a front-mounted, twin turbocharged version of Alfa's standard 2.5-liter V6 delivering 300 ponies to all four (18-inch) wheels, with the car said to complete the 0 to 100km/h sprint in the low five second-range.

The Nuvola was penned at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo under the watchful eye of Walter de Silva, who is currently Head of Volkswagen Group Design. As with any proper sports car, the goal of the designers was to stir emotions.

Measuring 4.29 meter (169 inches) in length, the Nuvola is sleek yet muscular, classic yet modern - all at the same time. The two seater show car made several references to Alfa Romeos of the past from the 8C 2900 to the 6C 2500 Villa d’Este, the Giulietta Sprint Speciale and the 1900 Sprint. Notable features include the futuristic luminous diode technology used for the slim, horizontal rear lights and the tires, which had a special pattern created for Alfa Romeo by Michelin.

The 'favoloso' exterior was matched by an equally stunning two-tone interior crafted in leather with aluminum and chrome accents. Sport pedals and a wooden steering wheel are also on the menu, with a finely crafted leather bag acting as storage between the driver and passenger.

While the concept never made it to production, it's styling legacy lives on as the Nuvola prefigured the shapes and surface treatments of Alfa Romeo’s -then- new aesthetics. Take a close look at the pictures and you’ll discover design cues that can even be seen in today's Alfa Romeo models.

Overall, we'd say it's pretty impressive how well the styling of the concept has withstood the test of time and a pity that Fiat's higher-ups never gave it the green light.

Unless you plan on visiting Alfa Romeo's historic museum in Arese, Italy, to see it in person, the closest you'll get to the Nuvola is through a die-cast scale model like the one we found on eBay Italy. True, it’s not the real deal, but probably better than nothing.

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