{"id":24727,"date":"2020-02-03T14:11:53","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T18:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=24727"},"modified":"2020-02-03T14:11:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T18:11:53","slug":"mid-engine-corvette-race-car-hits-daytona-with-mixed-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/mid-engine-corvette-race-car-hits-daytona-with-mixed-results","title":{"rendered":"Mid-engine Corvette race car hits Daytona with mixed results"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n<\/div>

The Corvette C8.R #3 driven by Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg finished fourth at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.\u00a0(Photo: Chevrolet)<\/span><\/p>\n

Opening a new era for Corvette, the mid-engine C8.R race car powered to fourth- and seventh-place in class at its Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona debut last weekend.<\/p>\n

Developed in tandem with the C8 street car, the racing thoroughbred hit the track ahead of its $59,995 showroom sibling after a 40-day UAW strike delayed production at Corvette\u2019s Bowling Green, Kentucky manufacturing facility until February.<\/p>\n

The C8 is the first Corvette in seven decades to put its engine behind the driver. That fundamental physical change was made to make the Corvette more competitive both in the marketplace and on track. Corvette\u2019s racing program is closely intertwined with its production ambitions. Hailed as the poor man\u2019s supercar, Chevrolet\u2019s sports car has long competed head-to-head on the international race circuit with supercar titans like Porsche and Ferrari.<\/p>\n

In its fourth-place finish Sunday, the top-performing No. 3 Corvette trailed Porsche\u2019s mid-engine entries and a first-place BMW, but outpunched its mid-engine Ferrari competitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy the Corvette C8.R went across the finish line for the first time,\u201d said veteran Corvette driver Antonia Garcia, who raced the front-engine C7.R from 2014-2019. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a win, but I\u2019m sure that knowing how it reacts and how much room there is for development, this Corvette will be a winning machine before long.”<\/p>\n

The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is the first stop on the endurance racing circuit\u2019s international tour with June\u2019s 24 Hours of Le Mans the ultimate prize. Ford also made a much-ballyhooed run at Le Mans in 2016 in its new, mid-engine Ford GT,\u00a0winning outright in its first attempt.<\/p>\n

Endurance racing is not only a high-profile stage for auto brands to show off their state-of-the-art performance. It’s also a crucial test-bed for technology that ultimately trickles down to production cars.<\/p>\n

Complementing the two C8.Rs on track during the Jan.\u00a025-26 weekend, Chevy displayed seven production C8s around the famous Daytona Speedway grounds, most of them in GM\u2019s Chevrolet Experience center located near Victory Lane.\u00a0\u00a0The race car and production car share 80 parts, compared to only two or three in past generations.<\/p>\n

For under $70,000, the Corvette C8 will hit 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds compared to 3.0 seconds for a $245,000 Ferrari 488.<\/p>\n

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