The 1968 Chevrolet Astro II Experimental was a prototype for possible production mid-engine Corvette vehicles of the 1970s.

The Astro II served as the inspiration for other mid-engine Corvette concepts, such as the XP-882 that soon followed it.

The Astro II concept was a stunningly attractive mid-engine design, thanks in no small part to input from Corvette design guru Larry Shinoda.

1968 Chevrolet Astro II Experimental GM Design and GM Research wanted to create a mid-engine Corvette, and the Astro II was their first prototype for this concept.

The Chevrolet Astro II concept, which debuted in 1968, was the first public showing of a mid-engined Corvette, and it touched off a frenzy.

1968 was a shifting year for Chevrolet's famous sportscar (coincidentally, their – and America's – only automobile of that breed), the Corvette. The year marked the arrival of the third ...

The Astro II, shown above, got a more Corvette-like water-cooled V8. It also had the most Corvette-like chassis, using the same suspension down to the transverse leaf-spring.

The Astro II was Winchell’s third and final mid-engine Corvette-type car. (We covered Winchell’s GS-IIB and his XP-819 V-8 rear-engine experimental in Part 6 of this series.) ...

The Corvette, that quintessentially American poem in steel, invades the Pentagon in force July 3 as part of a national caravan to honor the victims and rescuers of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Astro-II made the show car rounds until it was replaced with a series of Corvette show cars and several more mid-engine concept cars. In retrospect, all were dead-ends because of the transaxle ...

From a rear-engine Corvette lookalike to a jet-inspired three-wheeler, here are the Astro experimental cars you may have never seen before.

Chevrolet had been building mid-engine Corvettes since 1960, but there was always a big stumbling block; GM didn’t have a performance transaxle.