2020 C8 Corvette

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
Well, I`m surprised to be the first to post about this: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27116013/chevrolet-corvette-c8-mid-engine-confirmed-2020/

This quote reminded me of the first time I saw an `82 Firebird: "C8`s low slung silhouette and vastly different proportions". As I recall, it was Sept. 1981, and I was riding with my friend when we saw a red Ferrari, we thought...but of a type we were unfamiliar with. He weaved in and out of traffic to catch up to it, just as it was turning into...a GM tech center (where they train mechanics on new vehicle types...unfortunately that location closed long ago, so I can`t stake it out for new-model introductions). We pulled in after it and were able to read "Firebird" on the back (or somewhere).

It was a mind-blower, as I`m sure it will be for a lot of people when they first see on the street something shaped like an NSX or a Lamborghini that says "Corvette" on it.
 
I`ve heard they were going to switch to a mid engine layout. Awesome!

Can`t wait to see one. Hopefully one day I`ll be able to afford one too
 
You would have thought that GM would have produced a mid-engine Corvette LONG ago, but I think their less-than-stellar experience with the Pontiac Fiero may have cooled that idea. Remember the Fiero experience? 4-cylinder engines catching fire. Finally add the V6, correctly re-design the suspension instead of "adapting" parts from the Citation/Phoenix/Cimmeron and Chevette?!, then kill the production because it was underselling the Corvette (AKA, stealing sales from).

Still good to see. I wonder if future EPA gas ratings or political (think next-elected party platform) emission legislation will kill the V8 in the coming years. What, a 1000HP twin-turbo in a ZR1 (Zora) mated with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission?? I wonder what kind of lap times that will produce at Nürburgring (AKA, The `Ring) in Germany. Good performance PR and marketing. A Bugatti Veyron performance at 1/10 the price?? OK, maybe that is stretching it a bit!

Nothing wrong, though, with a "politically-correct" (AKA gas mileage compliant) V6 or a turbo 4, IF it means having a Corvette at all.
OK maybe it is WRONG : Witness the "all new" 1974 Ford Mustang II with a 2.3L 4-cylinder Pinto motor (Not the 2.0L Kent motor from the Germany Capri, even) to meet the then-imposed government EPA emission ratings! In four years Ford went from a 1970 429 Boss Mustang to the Mustang II. A reminder that history does repeat itself.
 
Yah, it seems like they`ve hopefully got the major bugs worked out (twisting frame on the future 1000hp `Super C8/Zora/Zr1` flexing and breaking rear window glass, electrical problems on all C8 mules) but I sure wouldn`t be a first year adopter/buyer but at least the base price is supposedly reasonable ("If you can afford a C7 Grand Sport @ ~ $68k, you can afford a C8")

For me it kinda looks like a mash-up of other designs (a bit of Ferrari, a bit of Ford GT) so will have to see uncamo`d pictures but guess it`s finally coming...

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/04/12/corvette-c8-reveal-date-confirmed

All the rumors and talk of the next-generation C8 mid-engine Corvette just took its first official step toward reality. Chevrolet for the first time publicly confirmed the upcoming C8 Vette, staging a PR stunt by driving a lightly camouflaged prototype through Times Square yesterday afternoon. Emblazoned on the side of the low and wide mid-engine sports car? The date Chevrolet has chosen for the official reveal, 7/19/2019.


The first official photos of this C8 prototype come just a week before the New York International Auto Show, with GM CEO Mary Barra hitching a ride in the passenger seat on her way to make an announcement at the Siller Foundation charity gala. Driving the camouflaged C8 was Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter.


Chevrolet has also produced a new page on its website just for C8, inviting those interested to sign up to receive the latest updates ( https://www.chevrolet.com/upcoming-vehicles/next-generation-corvette ). In the limited text on the page, Chevy is already calling for this car to set a new performance bar for the Corvette nameplate by saying “It’s the sum of each generation before it, but will stand alone as the new standard of performance.” Strong words when the current C7 ZR1 is quite competitive on the world stage.


The July 19 debut will likely be the base Stingray model, which we suspect will be powered by a 6.2-liter pushrod LT2 V-8 making at least 500 horsepower, utilizing a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. LT6 and LT8 V-8s are expected down the line for later Z06 and ZR1 variants, along with twin turbocharging and, potentially, hybridization. Currently there has been no information pointing to the availability of a manual transmission option.


Pricing is nothing more than rumors and speculation currently, but based on the specs Hagerty has seen we would place the base Stingray around the $60,000 mark. This would be an increase from the current C7’s base price but would still keep the Corvette as a relative performance bargain—especially when comparing to other mid-engine sports cars like the Acura NSX or McLaren 570S.


GM’s press release indicates that the “final production seventh generation Chevrolet Corvette” will be auctioned off this summer, benefitting the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. That bit of information quashes rumors that Chevrolet would continue selling the C7 Corvette alongside the C8.


The C8’s now-official arrival confirms years of suspicion and speculation from the auto industry, following the car’s absence at the Detroit auto show this year due to alleged delays. The mid-engine Corvette has been a topic of conversation for decades, but the tone of the conversation changed in the last few years when it started to really look like a reality. Developments and patent filings continued to provide hints, but in general, it is impressive the amount of information that has not leaked about this massive shift in Corvette tradition.


With the July reveal we will likely learn when sales will begin, but expect the C8 mid-engine Corvette to arrive in showrooms by the end of 2019.
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Upside is prices for new C7`s likely to drop as they probably want to move those off the lots ($3k GM Loyalty rebate program began April 1.

Will be fun to watch...from the sidelines.
 
Lonnie, I don`t think the Fiero was ever remotely intended to compete with the Corvette. If anything it was more of an experiment with that spaceframe/RIM panel body design which later went to Saturn.

And this car`s development was done while the new CAFE regs were in full effect, so I would expect any change in direction back to that wouldn`t have too much impact. If I`m not mistaken the rollbacks that the current administration initiated haven`t taken effect yet, although soon.
 
I`m with budget, in that I wouldn`t want the very first year. Give them time to find the problems that rise up yet.
 
Did they ever fix the problems on the 2018s with oil starvation problems while on the track?

I’m with the “don’t buy the first year model” crowd. Let someone else work out the bugs.

At 60 I’m the target demographic for the Vette, lol. I just have to get some Bermuda shorts, a polyester shirt with Corvettes on it, long white athletic socks, and Birkenstock’s.

All joking aside, I can’t wait to see one of these mid engine Vettes and I may be a buyer around 2025.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
At 60 I’m the target demographic for the Vette, lol. I just have to get some Bermuda shorts, a polyester shirt with Corvettes on it, long white athletic socks, and Birkenstock’s.
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Don`t forget the Jort`s...essential item if you gonna be truly living that `Corvette Lifestyle (tm)`. Can`t be showing up at the weekly Hooter`s gathering without proper uniform.
jorts.jpg
 
While I`m looking forward to seeing the street version revealed, I`m really excited to seeing the car Corvette Racing will run in the GTLM/GTE PRO class in the IMSA Championship and WEC. I`m sure it will be yellow, like the last three generations, but that shape with a big wing and all sorts of aero slats should be amazing.

I have seen a couple spyshots of the interior floating around as well and it looked pretty impressive. That is one area GM suffers as a whole, and I`m hoping it ends up being as well made and good looking as the few grainy spy photos seem to indicate.

While my attraction for the Vette varries over time, I hope GM hits a home run with the C-8. There are very few good sports cars in the world anymore, and with the death of the Viper and the Ford GT being sold basically by invitation only for nearly $500K, the Vette is really the "last man standing" when it comes to sports cars from the US automakers. Global competition is better for all enthusiasts.
 
I hope that the new C8 will be able to run a sub 7 minute at the ring. I thought for sure the C7 ZR1 with the big aero package would be able to, unfortunately a car with far less horsepower still ate the ZR1`s lunch.

I remember a specific college job fair where GM made an appearance. I stood and watched the GM booth for about 10 minutes, not a single student talked to the GM reps...... Hopefully GM was able to fix the frame twist that they were experiencing in testing.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Lonnie, I don`t think the Fiero was ever remotely intended to compete with the Corvette. If anything it was more of an experiment with that spaceframe/RIM panel body design which later went to Saturn.

And this car`s development was done while the new CAFE regs were in full effect, so I would expect any change in direction back to that wouldn`t have too much impact. If I`m not mistaken the rollbacks that the current administration initiated haven`t taken effect yet, although soon.
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You are correct about the R&D work of the plastic bodies and space-frames filtering down to the Saturn: GM needed to recoup its investment in this technology somehow. If it was "the next best thing to sliced bread" it would still be used today. (Which they are: witness the adhesives used in vehicle construction today and weight-saving ultra-high strength press-hardened steel frames)

I still content that this C8 Corvette project is a stillborn effort with the internal combustion engine. Don`t get me wrong; I LOVE the ICE and hope it will be around for vehicle propulsion for a LONG, LONG time. However, there must be a reason Porsche, Audi, and Jaguar are developing super-cars based in electric motor technology. Who knows about the super-secret C8-E project (Code name: Warp Drive).

I will point out that Henry Ford`s mass-produced emerging technology (for that time) gas ICE-propelled Model T and subsequent Model A largely replaced the horse and buggy as the means of personal transportation and obsoleted companies and labor skills associated with the horse and buggy era in a relatively short time (like blacksmiths), while opening up the need for new types of companies and skills (like paved roads and mechanics). I reiterate: history repeats itself.
 
Lonnie said:
I still content that this C8 Corvette project is a stillborn effort with the internal combustion engine. Don`t get me wrong; I LOVE the ICE and hope it will be around for vehicle propulsion for a LONG, LONG time. However, there must be a reason Porsche, Audi, and Jaguar are developing super-cars based in electric motor technology. Who knows about the super-secret C8-E project (Code name: Warp Drive).
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Well, it sounds like you follow these things a lot more closely than I do now, but I believe the US is no longer the largest vehicle market in the world, or if it is, it will shortly be eclipsed by China, which has a larger electric initiative than we do. Again, I don`t follow this stuff closely, but I would think part of the reason for those electric super-cars is for demonstration purposes, kind of in the way when Elon Musk was asked why his Model S goes from 0-60 in 3-point-something seconds, his answer was that people weren`t going to take electric cars seriously if they thought they wouldn`t be fun to drive.
 
I believe China is already the biggest car market and I think they are also the largest electric car market as well, though a couple European countries are probably not far behind on a per capita basis.

I think there are three reasons why the C8 hasn`t gone hybrid or electric.

1. Cost. This is may be the biggest reason. From the beginning, and moreso today, the Vette has always been a car with world-beating performance at a fraction of the cost. When you look at the hybrid hypercars on the market, they are really expensive. Even the NSX, which is one of the more reasonable ones, is over $150K. Fully electric sports cars are much more expensive. Chevy would isolate their costomer base if the entry price of a base model doubled.

2. Tradition. Going rear/mid engine will disenfrachise many die hard traditional Vette fans as it is. GM may have felt changing the layout AND the powertrain all at once may have been a bridge too far and they`d loose their target market.

3. Target market. In the US electric cars are only around 2% of all cars sold despite all the press they recieve and charging infrastucture in the hearland is no where near what it is in major cities on the coasts. Only Tesla has a semi-workable network of charging stations and it still has gaps. Today you simply couldn`t point an electric Vette down and empty road and chase the horizon because you`d run out of juice and get stranded pretty easily.

All that said, who knows what the lifecycle of the C8 will look like. By going rear/mid engine all sorts of new possibilies present themselves. I could see the Stingray, Grand Sport, and Z06 going with various monster V-8`s and then the the ZR1 getting an electric motor parked over the front axle like many hybrid super cars do today. Imagine a 1000-ish ICE engine (like the one rumored to be twisting the frame and shattering the back window) driving the rear wheels paired with a 200~300hp electric motor over the front axle. If you can`t wrap your head around that, Google Porsche`s 919 LMP1 Le Mans race car...it ran the exact same power train. Acceleration out of the corners was mind blowing.
 
The EU is pressing hard here to go down with fossil fuels powered vehicals. Goal is to 2030 that no new vehicals would have the power from fossil fuels. And from a developing stand point it`s not so far away. The big problem is to build up the powering these vehicals would need to be recharged or refilled. Bigger cities and where you don`t have larger distances is maybe an easy solution. But take electric vehicals and the amount of electricity they take if 50-75% of all new vehicals would be that. And we know for an example needs to be importing electricity during winter months here in Sweden. One thing that I see would solve the amount of electricity is nuclear power. But that will not the environment crazy people listen to. Also the makeing of the batteries is very polutant to the environment. And also the amount of polutant into the environment based over 10 years or so from makeing batteries for 1 car. Is as much as or even more than a newer fossil fueled car with low emissions releases during these same 10 years. The way they are able to get diesel engines release cleaner exhausts with the fumes running through ad-blue which is urea. The bad nitrogen oxides is mostly desolved to water and nitrogen from the exhaust. One more problem is when an accident happens. If and not rarely the electric cars gets on fire. The fire fighters is just letting it burn out as it`s today. Cause of the high heat when the batteries is caught on fire is the problem for them. The natuaral gas powered vehicals which many busses is here in the cities is an other problem for them as it`s not so knowledge where the safety valve is placed. So they can not go near them as the risk of the explosion. This happened on a buss here in Sweden a couple of months ago. Luckly there was only the buss driver in it and he got out of the buss before it exploaded. He took a short cut on a road with a tunnel that was too low for the buss to pass through it. The natuaral gas tank is placed on the roof. So human errors is unvoideble to have. But the tragedy could be extreme. Just think of an accident where the people can not get out by them self. And the fire departement rescue team can only stand there and look at it and make no one get close to the vehical or vehicals in the accident. Sure there is a risk with fossil fuels powered vehicals too but not as extreme as most alternative fuels we have today. It`s needed to be looked at from all angles to be getting a really replacement for gas and diesel driven vehicals.

Will be awesome to see this new Corvette. And how it`s been accepted by the potential buyers.
 
TheMeanGreen said:
I hope that the new C8 will be able to run a sub 7 minute at the ring. I thought for sure the C7 ZR1 with the big aero package would be able to, unfortunately a car with far less horsepower still ate the ZR1`s lunch.
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I think the C7`s problem was more than power and downforce. I`ve read/watched reivews from several pro racing drivers who have long complained about the way the Z06/ZR1 puts down power which makes them very hard to to drive flat out.

Hopefully GM was able to fix the frame twist that they were experiencing in testing.
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I don`t know which I find more frustrating, the frame twist or the electrical wiring harness problem. To be finding those problems this late in the development cycle makes me question GM`s design and testing process. Granted, the wiring harness and electrical system is brand new, but they should not have gone on long enough that it caused the release to be delayed. As for the frame twist, I`m surprised the structural problems didn`t come out in the simulation and stress/load testing process long before they dropped an engine into a chasis.
 
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