This Poor Mid-Engined Chevrolet Corvette C8 Prototype Broke Down

Prototype vehicles can be fragile, and this mid-engined C8 Corvette mule is proof positive that anything can happen. Our spy photographers caught this Vette in an unfortunate situation while testing in Michigan. While we're not exactly sure what had befallen the car when it pulled up to the gas station, we do know that the vehicle wouldn't start after getting refueled and eventually got towed back to GM's Milford Proving Grounds.

Our photographers tell us that nothing seemed amiss when the Corvette initially pulled up to the gas station, but that the vehicle apparently wouldn't start up again when it was refueled.

Things start off with the GM engineers looking under the front access panel-remember, it's not the hood, as the engine is in the middle. Our guess is that the issue had something to do with the car's battery, which is likely located up front. It's possible that one of the attempts to solve the problem involved disconnecting the battery.

With the car sitting unresponsive at the gas pump, the engineering team decided to whip out the car cover at this point to thwart any onlookers from seeing more of the car's styling.

GM's support vehicle, a GMC Sierra heavy-duty tow truck, finally arrived, and the Corvette was loaded on for a trip back to the shop.

We're somewhat surprised to see the Corvette prototype being towed in this manner, and it seems strange that GM didn't bring a flatbed truck to haul the precious C8 prototype around.

Hey, sometimes with prototypes, things go wrong. For this C8 Corvette test mule, things went way wrong-and it broke down in a gas-station parking lot, where GM engineers threw a cover over the stricken C8 before having it towed away. We were there with cameras. Maybe the Corvette is as tired of waiting for its reveal as we're getting!

It's a sad sight indeed, but that doesn't mean we're not excited about the C8 Corvette's impending debut. Read more about what we've said about the car here, and see more spy photos here that show the car's styling and hint at some mechanical details.