The Forgotten Corvette Concept Car That We’d Take Over The C8 Every Time – SlashGear

The third CERV was the “first functional, electronic high-tech Corvette concept car.” Until the C8 prototypes were built, it remained the last Chevy mid-engine concept for decades (via Motor Trend).

The car was put together by Lotus (in England), so race car builders added more than a few touches to the overall feel of the CERV III, including a carbon fiber underbody and backbone chassis. The body was an exotic mix of carbon fiber, Kevlar, and Nomex, all reinforced by honeycombed aluminum (via Motor Trend).

To get inside, you lifted the Lotus-inspired scissor doors, but the interior was far from exotic. The dashboard did include an advanced (for its time) small CRT monitor that showed, among other things, a navigation system complete with road maps. An extended panel with over 20 command buttons sat to the right of the shifter along the center console with a gamepad-style four-way directional D-pad. Remember that GPS tech was still five years away (via Motor Trend).

The suspension was a mix of cutting-edge tech, and acted as the first iteration of the C7’s unique version (via Motor Trend). The active suspension system (again inspired by Lotus) was monitored by a computer that kept track of pitch, yaw, and even tire slippage, then automatically adjusted the horizontal level of the car on the fly. The CERV III didn’t use shock absorbers but went with actuators instead. Oh, and it had an anti-lock braking system (ABS), of course.