Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle (CERV)

The Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle (CERV) is a series of Chevrolet experimental cars. Chevrolet Staff engineer, designer, and race car driver Zora Arkus-Duntov started development of the CERV I in 1959, and began work on the CERV II in 1963. Chevrolet Chief Engineer Don Runkle and Lotus' Tony Rudd discussed creating a new show car to demonstrate their engineering expertise in 1985; It would become the CERV III. Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill unveiled the CERV IV in 1993, a test vehicle for the 1997 C5 Corvette.

Zora Arkus-Duntov, Chevrolet Staff engineer, designer, and race car driver started development of the "CERV I" (Chevrolet Experimental Racing Vehicle) in 1959, which was unveiled to the public at the Riverside International Raceway November 1960, under the name "CERV I" (Chevrolet Experimental Research Vehicle).

CERV-I (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) was developed as a research tool for that company's continuous efforts to understand automotive ride and handling phenomena under the most realistic conditions. The car was built at the Chevrolet Engineering Center at Warren, Michigan. The primary function of the "CERV-1", was to provide Chevrolet engineers with a test platform from which direct visual studies were made from all types of ride and handling behavior under amplified conditions.

The stated function of the "CERV-1" largely determines its concept and final configuration. In order to realistically amplify vehicle responses to handling and road stimuli, the performance capability of the vehicle must be extended far beyond that of regular passenger cars. In other words, a high power-to-weight ratio is mandatory. By such means, suspension phenomena that are extremely subtle, and thus difficult to isolate within the performance capabilities of a regular passenger car, may be studied and treated quantitatively with the "CERV-1".Another fundamental factor in the experimental car's design is the visibility afforded by the body design. The streamlined, abbreviated body encloses the engine, transaxle, engine cooling system, and provide an open cockpit for the driver, from which all four wheels, in contact with the ground, are clearly visible.Some broad features of the "CERV-I" are: extremely light weight to afford a horsepower-to-weight ratio such as that usually associated with high performance aircraft; rear mounted engine in unit with a fully synchronized four-speed transaxle; the only passenger, the driver, sits well forward on the centerline of the car for virtually optimum visibility, and all four wheels are independently suspended to provide a high order of stability and positive handling.

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