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After decades of delay inside GM, 'mythic' mid-engine Corvette is in production
It was the automotive world’s worst kept secret.
Rumors have swirled for years that General Motors would finally acquiesce to industry pressure and transform its iconic sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette, into a mid-engine beast.
Now it appears to be a reality.
General Motors has allowed almost nothing about its next-generation Corvette -- referred to as the C8 -- to leak out. Corvette’s chief engineer, Tadge Juechter, was photographed in April driving a heavily-camouflaged C8 on the streets of New York. Excitement has only been building for Corvette enthusiasts and auto journalists, who will see the new car for the first time on July 18 in California.
“I have never seen so much buzz around Corvette,” Dan Pund, editor at large for Car and Driver, told ABC News. “A mid-engine Corvette has been like a mythical creature.”
General Motors hasn't released pricing details but industry insiders guess it might cost around $75,000.
Corvette’s supercharged small block V8 engine had always been positioned up in the front, giving the 66-year-old classic American sports car its signature “wedge shape.” Even as Corvette engineers tweaked the engine’s acceleration and horsepower, competitors that have offered mid-engine cars for years were setting new performance records and powering ahead of Chevrolet in sales.
“To be truly world class, you have to be mid-engine,” Jonny Lieberman, Motor Trend's senior features editor, told ABC News. He broke the story in 2014 that a mid-engine Corvette was in production.
Motor Trend editors keep a database of sports car and supercar lap times they record at various race tracks around the world. Over the years, the only cars to beat the 755 horsepower ZR1, the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever built, were its mid-engine rivals.
“The chassis can’t handle the power," he said. “There’s a lack of mechanical grip. The [ZR1’s] rear-end cannot put the power the engine is creating to the ground, which causes oversteer. One way to change that is going mid-engine.”
(MORE: Auto insiders get candid about the industry's biggest trends)
Forty Corvette aficionados have already put down deposits on the new C8, according to Gabriel Pineiro, a sales consultant at the Bomnin Chevrolet dealership in Miami.
“I’d say 65% of Corvette buyers know about the C8,” Pineiro told ABC News, adding that even non-Corvette fans are walking into the dealership and asking to see the C8 in person.
Bomnin Chevrolet, one of the largest Corvette dealers in the country, has about 300 current models in stock. Sales have been relatively strong, partially due to the $10,000 discount being offered, Pineiro said.
“We’re a high-volume dealer and everything is market price. We’re trying to push hard for allocations of the C8,” he said.
Bill Brunner, vice president and general manager of Paramus Chevrolet in New Jersey, said he's not selling as many Corvettes these days. But he's optimistic anticipation for the C8 will change that.
He’s already taking deposits from customers even though he’s unsure if he'll get even a single C8 to sell.
“I will tell you my first concern is to be on the list,” he told ABC News.
If this level of excitement holds, sales of the C8 could be a blockbuster for GM.
It was the automotive world’s worst kept secret.
Rumors have swirled for years that General Motors would finally acquiesce to industry pressure and transform its iconic sports car, the Chevrolet Corvette, into a mid-engine beast.
Now it appears to be a reality.
General Motors has allowed almost nothing about its next-generation Corvette -- referred to as the C8 -- to leak out. Corvette’s chief engineer, Tadge Juechter, was photographed in April driving a heavily-camouflaged C8 on the streets of New York. Excitement has only been building for Corvette enthusiasts and auto journalists, who will see the new car for the first time on July 18 in California.
“I have never seen so much buzz around Corvette,” Dan Pund, editor at large for Car and Driver, told ABC News. “A mid-engine Corvette has been like a mythical creature.”
General Motors hasn't released pricing details but industry insiders guess it might cost around $75,000.
Corvette’s supercharged small block V8 engine had always been positioned up in the front, giving the 66-year-old classic American sports car its signature “wedge shape.” Even as Corvette engineers tweaked the engine’s acceleration and horsepower, competitors that have offered mid-engine cars for years were setting new performance records and powering ahead of Chevrolet in sales.
“To be truly world class, you have to be mid-engine,” Jonny Lieberman, Motor Trend's senior features editor, told ABC News. He broke the story in 2014 that a mid-engine Corvette was in production.
Motor Trend editors keep a database of sports car and supercar lap times they record at various race tracks around the world. Over the years, the only cars to beat the 755 horsepower ZR1, the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever built, were its mid-engine rivals.
“The chassis can’t handle the power," he said. “There’s a lack of mechanical grip. The [ZR1’s] rear-end cannot put the power the engine is creating to the ground, which causes oversteer. One way to change that is going mid-engine.”
(MORE: Auto insiders get candid about the industry's biggest trends)
Forty Corvette aficionados have already put down deposits on the new C8, according to Gabriel Pineiro, a sales consultant at the Bomnin Chevrolet dealership in Miami.
“I’d say 65% of Corvette buyers know about the C8,” Pineiro told ABC News, adding that even non-Corvette fans are walking into the dealership and asking to see the C8 in person.
Bomnin Chevrolet, one of the largest Corvette dealers in the country, has about 300 current models in stock. Sales have been relatively strong, partially due to the $10,000 discount being offered, Pineiro said.
“We’re a high-volume dealer and everything is market price. We’re trying to push hard for allocations of the C8,” he said.
Bill Brunner, vice president and general manager of Paramus Chevrolet in New Jersey, said he's not selling as many Corvettes these days. But he's optimistic anticipation for the C8 will change that.
He’s already taking deposits from customers even though he’s unsure if he'll get even a single C8 to sell.
“I will tell you my first concern is to be on the list,” he told ABC News.
If this level of excitement holds, sales of the C8 could be a blockbuster for GM.
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