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

The 1968 Chevrolet Astro II Experimental was one of the first mid-engine Corvette concepts and drove speculation GM wanted to move it to a mid-engine platform.

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 first mid-engined Corvette I remember was the Astro II concept car on the cover of Road & Track in July 1968—when I was a junior in high school. It looked very low, impossibly sleek, with ...

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 Astro II, or the XP-880, debuted a year later at the 1968 New York Auto Show, according to Road and Track, with a mid-engine layout and speculation of whether it would be the next Corvette.

With a name GM would later recycle on a minivan, the Astro II XP-880 was never publicly identified as a Corvette, but it was one, intended for production in 1970, but never got there.

Astro II never actually got the Corvette name despite getting crossed flags on the hood, but it started endless speculation about the Corvette switching to a mid-engine design.

Fans will be able to see the recently acquired two-rotor XP-987 GT, the Corvette Indy, and a C8. This summer, the museum will add the CERV-1, CERV-II, Astro II, Reynolds Aluminum Corvette, and XP-819.

Mid-engine Corvette hype didn't really take off until the 1967 Astro-II engineering study. Unlike the previous adventures dating back to 1960, The Astro-II "looked" like a Corvette, and the car ...

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 ...

With a name GM would later recycle on a minivan, the Astro II XP-880 was never publicly identified as a Corvette, but it was one, intended for production in 1970, but never got there.