This four-minute film features a rare, close-up look at one of the most fascinating  General Motors concept cars ever: the Chevrolet Aerovette. 

With a mid-engine production Corvette finally becoming reality, we thought it might be fun to review one of the original mid-engine Corvette concepts, the Aerovette. Initially constructed in 1969 as XP-882 (Experimental Project 882), this mid-engined program was shelved at one point, only to be revived a few years later as the XP-895, powered by a four-rotor version of GM’s Wankel rotary engine.

When the GM Wankel engine program dead-ended, a 400 CID small-block Chevy V8 in LT1 trim was dropped into the XP-895’s transverse, mid-ship engine room, and the vehicle was named the Aerovette, a reference to the vehicle’s slick .325 drag coefficient. In this general configuration, the mid-engine Corvette very nearly received the green light for production, it’s said.

But that never came to pass, obviously, and the sole existing Aerovette concept can be found on display at the GM Heritage Collection, along with a sibling concept, the Reynolds Corvette. (Tour the collection here.) In the meantime, here’s a cinematic take on the Aerovette in its Wankel phase, with the focus on the cockpit and driver experience.