By Jeff Glucker
After decades of talk and speculation, Chevrolet is finally ready to reveal a brand-new Corvette with a mid-engine layout. The C8 Corvette is set to make its debut this evening. And the automaker is doing things big. So big, in fact, that the building being used is immense.
The reveal event is being held in Tustin, California under the roof of an old blimp hanger. Chevy will utilize one of the two blimp hangers still sitting at the edge of what used to be the El Toro Marine Corp Air Station. They were built back in 1942, stand 17 stories tall, 1,000-feet long, and 300-feet wide. That should be enough space to house what should be a large throng of people eager to lay eyeballs on this all-new Corvette.
But what will we find? The shape is starting to come into focus thanks to images like the one above. What is powering the car, however, is still being speculated. Word has it that the standard powertrain will still make use of a proper V8 engine. There are rumors of potential hybridization on higher, more potent trims. Crazy numbers as high as four figures worth of horsepower have been bandied about along the way.
We know that we don’t know much…
We assume the standard version will use an updated version of the 6.2-liter V8. What gearbox is connected to that, we do not know. It will be interesting to see if Chevy still offers a manual gearbox and also if the newer ten-speed automatic will also be an option. It’s also certain to ruffle feathers of the Corvette faithful, but could bring in a new run of fans.
Hooniverse will be in attendance for the reveal event, so stay tuned for more information in the next few days. We’ll try to get some video while we’re there but it might be a cluster…
What do you think Chevy is going to do with this car? Which powertrains will be offered? Which gearboxes? And how much will it cost? Sound off below
Like any true car nut, I can’t wait for the depreciation to start! I’ll be celebrating my 60th with a mint 2022 model in Apollo Mission Metallic Aureate
Like any true car nut, I can’t wait for the depreciation to start! I’ll be celebrating my 60th with a mint 2022 model in Apollo Mission Metallic Aureate
“What do you think Chevy is going to do with this car?”
Lose money!
OT: I hope we’ve seen the last of ReCaptcha
what happened with Captcha?
The Disqus login stopped prompting for the Captcha, but it’s also having other issues, so it’s probably just in limp home mode.
The prerequisite for “being ready” is “caring enough to begin with”. As a car enthusiast, I feel like I should be excited about this reveal, but I’m not… at all. The only positive thing about the ridiculously drawn-out reveal process will be its conclusion. Much like Game of Thrones, the C8 has been something that started out interesting, but has dragged on for so long that I now simply want it to definitively end. And like the GoT finale, the approaching conclusion looks more and more dissatisfying. The only cool thing about the C7 Vette (IMO) was that it could somehow be competitive with its old-school front-engine/rear-drive layout and a pushrod V8 engine.
I’d literally be more interested if Chevrolet announced they were bringing back Caprice station wagon.
https://media0.giphy.com/media/l1J9I5KFN8zwGG4k8/giphy.gif
“The only positive thing about the ridiculously drawn-out reveal process will be its conclusion…
You know what’s really sad? I didn’t really think about the mid-engine Corvette release as being a drawn-out reveal for dramatic effect. That never occurred to me. I honestly thought that GM was having trouble getting the design up to even their classic “let the customer be the beta tester” standard.
It’s a tradition, you know-
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1115405_4th-lawsuit-filed-over-c7-corvette-z06-cooling-issues
They’ve been trying to figure out how to get that cheap Chevy-by-Fisherprice oily plastic sheen over every possible interior surface so you KNOW you’ve bought a bargain supercar
I get the idea and really have no objection to a mid-engined Corvette at all, it makes a lot of sense, but this seems like a bragging rights type of a move, to have all of the “measurables” of a world class sports car ticked off. Since the C5’s, Corvettes have been a screaming performance value. I just hope that holds up and that the price of lightly used C7’s drops like a stone.
I’d be more interested in the C8 if the hype train didn’t leave the station so long ago. Cars like this are better if they are just announced out of the blue. iirc they did that for the newest ford GT. The drawn out reveal process made the 5th gen Camaro and NSX new by the time they debuted.
At least when Chevrolet wanted a mid engine car for GTE/GTLM, they didnt cheat like Ford or Porsche, and they’re developing a car you can actually buy and own before they are racing. I see the racing program and the introduction of the GT and mid-911 as the only reasons they decided to go mid-engined.
I replaced the ignition coil in my Austin Allegro and topped off its Hydragas system yesterday, which, yes, I believe concludes all my intended preparations for the C8. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.
Lots of people are going to be surprised when they unveil a rear engined front drive three cylinder two stroke diesel with knobby tires.
I’m more interested in seeing if they amortize the development cost with a Cadillac version of this layout/chassis, or something along that line of thought.
I sincerely hope they don’t. I can’t think of another vehicle Cadillac needs less in its portfolio than a mid-engined two-seater. Surely the company still feels the bruises from the colossal failure of the XLR.
Cadillac had reasonable success with their previous mid-engined two-seater:
http://americanbreizhcar.com/userImages/462/cada.jpg
Here’s another (apologies for the poor photo) – despite appearances, the engine is under the seat. Mind you Cadillac sold a lot more cars once they switched to front engines! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a57226d44e84d418151795685f587927a57872ea048c23ea6123ba5778baab0b.jpg
They DID learn from it; their next two-door was front-engined and a hybrid: the ELR… And sold vastly fewer cars than the XLR: http://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/cadillac/elr/cadillac-elr-sales-numbers/ (those figures for Canada are just eye-opening).
Maybe if they made the Caddy a hybrid Hypercar version.
I suppose if Cadillac wants to completely reinvent their brand, then ok, but why jump into that ring? Does every lux brand really need a hybrid hypercar? Or any hypercar? I say, no.
Cadillac needs to find their niche and do it well, instead of just trying to be a “better Chevrolet” or a “faux European”.
I’m not saying we should go back to 50s fins and chrome, but the recent faux euro cars show a lack of confidence that used to be a big part of Cadillac. I thought the Plein Ciel and Elmiraj concepts were greate directions they should be heading in, and while they’ve taken elements of those cars styling into production, they seem to have a fudged timidity about them, afraid to go against Germanic conservatism, which is funny, because no-one in Europe buys a Cadillac, but the might, if they offered something different, just like the Mustang.
I think you nailed it with “lack of confidence”. The Elmiraj was bold, beautiful, and distinctly Cadillac. The newer Escala reigned-in the design for a bit less drama and more European overtones, but it did appear near-production-ready with minimal compromise required to get the green light. To say that the CT5 and CT6 are timid executions of that concept vastly understates the situation. Someone in Cadillac Design obviously has vision, but others who lack it are the ones putting product on the showroom floor.
You’re right in that Cadillac doesn’t need fins and chrome, it needs balls. But slapping a wide pentagonal grille and brand crest onto the C8 platform isn’t bold– it’s desperate. Cadillac won’t ever come close to its former “Standard of The World” claim by mimicking the Germans, but nor will it do so wearing its little brother’s hand-me-downs.
I think you nailed it with “lack of confidence”. The Elmiraj was bold, beautiful, and distinctly Cadillac. The newer Escala reigned-in the design for a bit less drama and more European overtones, but it did appear near-production-ready with minimal compromise required to get the green light. To say that the CT5 and CT6 are timid executions of that concept vastly understates the situation. Someone in Cadillac Design obviously has vision, but others who lack it are the ones putting product on the showroom floor.
You’re right in that Cadillac doesn’t need fins and chrome, it needs balls. But slapping a wide pentagonal grille and brand crest onto the C8 platform isn’t bold– it’s desperate. Cadillac won’t ever come close to its former “Standard of The World” claim by mimicking the Germans, but nor will it do so wearing its little brother’s hand-me-downs.
They have already designed it. They just have to make it. The Cien looks exactly like a Cadillac mid-engined supercar should look. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b8f79e36ff854d2d87429a214ca191cdb5ae8a8cc8cf09cee3045f98e188d631.jpg /b8f79e36ff854d2d87429a214ca191cdb5ae8a8cc8cf09cee3045f98e188d631.jpg
They have already designed it. They just have to make it. The Cien looks exactly like a Cadillac mid-engined supercar should look. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b8f79e36ff854d2d87429a214ca191cdb5ae8a8cc8cf09cee3045f98e188d631.jpg /b8f79e36ff854d2d87429a214ca191cdb5ae8a8cc8cf09cee3045f98e188d631.jpg
Am I ready got a car I can neither afford, and doesn’t have the back seat I need? Sure? I’m going to miss what the Corvette’s been for my entire lifetime (a performance bargain with an absurdly usable trunk), but if it makes people take it as seriously as it’s deserved, I’m fine with the switch to mid-engine.
I get that it should make the GTLM/GTE program more competitive, and that they were getting to the limits of what they could do for performance with a front-engine car, but it just feels wrong. I know, there were mid-engine rumblings in the 1970’s, but that was 4 decades ago on a car that was only 2 decades old then. I feel like they’d have done better to keep a front-engine lower model for people happy with the old-style Vette and have this be some upper level of the Corvette brand.
Duntov actually wasn’t happy with the Corvette’s layout from its first year, and the ’59 CERV I was his first stab at a mid-engine platform to replace it. So historically-speaking, the Vette has been flirting with a mid-engine design since the C1, long before the 1970s.
However, I completely agree with you that despite the new platform making absolute sense, “it just feels wrong“. There’s no way Chevrolet would name the C8 anything but “Corvette”, because the name carries too much weight. However, they could have retained a C7-type of traditional sports car in their portfolio, and named it “Stingray”. Both names are significant to the history of the brand, and would therefore probably be acceptable. Traditionalists could have their FR sports car, and those more interested in absolute performance (and without sentimental attachment) could opt for the MR.
The big question, though, is would it make financial sense to have three sports cars in the Chevy stable? Ford has only the Mustang and the GT, and the latter is slated for a total production of only 1350 units, making it almost irrelevant in comparison. Chevrolet built 32,000 Vettes and 83,000 Camaros in 2017 compared to Ford’s 82,000 Mustangs. With the Camaro performing as well as it is on a FR platform, there’s little room for another one wearing the same brand.
Perhaps the traditionalist Corvette fans should just learn to embrace the Camaro. As ugly as the recent one turned out, maybe it could just adopt C7 styling for 2020?
Less interested about where the engine is, but is it still going to have a composite body?
I am as ready for the C8 as I was for the C7, the C6, the C5 and the C4. I’ll read the reviews and put it on the worth trying but not worth buying list because I on;t want a car payment the size of my mortgage payment.