Grand Sport<\/a> models would continue through 2021.<\/p>\nThe eighth-generation Corvette C8 \u2013 codenamed \u201cEmperor\u201d \u2014 is targeted for an unveiling in early 2018, sources said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not comment on future product plans,\u201d a Chevy spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
One former GM employee with knowledge of the project said, \u201cIt\u2019s happening. Mark Reuss wants it,\u201d referring to the automaker\u2019s global product development chief. \u201cIt\u2019s the worst-kept secret in town.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chevy has long been concerned by Corvette\u2019s aging demographic, and a mid-engine performance car could appeal to younger buyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe median age of the Corvette buyer got three years older while I was there, which scared the hell out of us,\u201d says Tom Wallace, who was Corvette\u2019s chief engineer from 2006 until 2008.<\/p>\n
Some sources say a mid-engine Corvette could be the basis for a Cadillac sports car.<\/p>\n
When Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen was asked by Motor Trend last fall if a Cadillac \u201chalo\u201d car based on a mid-engine Corvette might be in the cards, he replied: \u201cIt has to be one of the options that we consider. In the future there are going to be some architectures inside the corporation that will remain purely Cadillac, but then there are others where it just isn\u2019t economically feasible to enter segments by trying to do a unique Cadillac. Then you look at what\u2019s available in terms of corporate assets. And I\u2019m sure you\u2019d agree that a new, very advanced Corvette platform wouldn\u2019t be a bad place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
C8 characteristics<\/strong><\/p>\nWith the engine located behind the driver and in front of the rear wheels, mid-engine sports cars are prized by performance-car fans for their balanced handling characteristics. The mid-engine format would make it more current with Corvette race-program competitors like the much-pricier Ferrari 488 and Ford GT.<\/p>\n
The C8 is expected to be equipped with performance innovations like an active-aerodynamic system to enhance downforce, according to Car & Driver\u2019s Don Sherman, who has been following the car\u2019s development since 2014. The magazine says the next-generation Corvette will be powered by the tried-and-true small-block pushrod V-8 to keep costs down.<\/p>\n
The mid-engine format would allow GM more flexibility to make performance variants \u2014 perhaps an all-wheel drive, plug-in hybrid model with electric motors driving the front wheels. That would put it head-to-head \u2014 at a more modest price \u2014 with cutting-edge, mid-engine hybrid supercars such as the Acura NSX and Porsche 918.<\/p>\n
GM and Chevrolet last year trademarked the names Corvette E-Ray and Manta Ray. The names, some analysts believe, indicate the company is considering multiple vehicle variants.<\/p>\n
Bob Lutz, GM\u2019s former head of product development, speculates that the program\u2019s long lead time \u2014 the C8 wouldn\u2019t go into production until late 2018 \u2014 foreshadows an electric version \u201cwith 10- to 15-mile plug-in electric capability.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would only require a 5-kWh battery, or $1,300 at today\u2019s lithium-ion prices (plus motors and control hardware),\u201d he said in an email. \u201cIt would be enough to give it a 50 mpg city label, and the electric motors at the front would enable limited AWD capability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company recently announced investments totaling nearly $800 million in its Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky, where Corvettes are built. That includes $153 million for improving vehicle assembly line processes, on top of $137 million in previously committed capital. Last year, GM said it would invest $439 million for a new paint shop and $44 million to expand its Performance Build Center.<\/p>\n
The plant is expected to be shut down for three months in mid- to late-2017 for retooling.<\/p>\n
Lutz and Wallace say that they and then-Corvette Assistant Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter got the mid-engine Corvette approved in 2007, only to see the project shelved while GM went through bankruptcy reorganization in 2009.<\/p>\n
Lutz says the $800 million Bowling Green investment figure is in line with what was asked for nine years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program I got approved in \u201907 was $900 million,\u201d Lutz says, \u201cand included a Cadillac XLR with a supercharged Northstar engine. If the current program is $800 million, I\u2019d bet it includes a different-bodied Cadillac again as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
From \u2018what-if\u2019 to project<\/strong><\/p>\nCorvette faithful have already begun putting down deposits on the car. Les Stanford Chevrolet in Dearborn, one of the top three Corvette sellers in the United States, confirms about two dozen customers have put down $2,000 on the C8 to be first in line.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe potential for a mid-engine Corvette is in the future,\u201d says General Sales Manager Scott Montgomery. \u201cWe have a lot of attention from members of the enthusiast community who have never been wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to publishing spy shots of a camouflaged, mid-engine car undergoing testing, Car & Driver created computer renderings <\/a>of the C8 featuring a muscular stance and low, menacing nose. The renderings are based on descriptions of the production prototype by people who have seen the car\u2019s design.<\/p>\nStephanie Brinley, a senior analyst with forecasting firm IHS Markit, said there have been rumors of a mid-engine Corvette for a decade. \u201cIt seems to be maturing from a \u2018what-if\u2019 to a project,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pricing a new Corvette in line with Chevrolet and its value-brand philosophy will be important, Brinley said. It can\u2019t have a $450,000 sticker price like the Ford GT. But Brinley said there is some space for a price increase over today\u2019s $55,445 base C7.<\/p>\n
GM has flirted with mid-engine Corvettes in the past, particularly in the 1960s when Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov argued it was a superior architecture. Arkus-Duntov produced four mid-engine concepts from 1960-70, including the 1968 \u201cAstro II.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Astro was a reaction to the mid-engine 1966 Ford GT-40 and its stunning success at the 24 Hours of LeMans. Fifty years later, another Ford GT has won LeMans \u2014 and this time GM\u2019s response appears to be a full-blown, mid-engine production C8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
General Motors Co. intends to start selling a mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette in early 2019, according to multiple sources familiar with the company\u2019s planning. While America\u2019s iconic sports car has gone through seven generations of upgrades since it debuted in 1953, a mid-engine architecture would be the most radical change in Corvette history. The sources, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18980,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18979\/revisions\/18980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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