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I've been looking at the CorvetteBlogger close-up photos at the gas station near Nurburgring. I noticed something interesting that likely bears on the storage space of the new C8. Tadge J. has noted more than once that "bandwidth" or what I think of as "general utility" to plethora of users / owners is one of the key attributes of the car that the C7 design team has prioritized since at least the development of the C5. To that end I want to show you guys four interesting photos highlighting the "parting lines" of the hatch and the body for 1) my C7 Z51 coupe (aka "Lola), 2) a very nice Ferrari 458 coupe a friend of mine owns (and which I have dibs on...), 3) an overhead shot of one of the C8 coupes taken this week at the gas station near the Nurburgring, and 4) a close-up of the C8 spoiler and adjacent hatch showing parting lines.
The first photo shows a dirty C7 but the parting lines of the hatch go from about 1" inside the quarter-panel highlight across the front of the Z51 spoiler, and all the way to the other quarter panel. For those who do not have a C7, the hatch opens here and the floor of the well underneath is ~10.5" deep and runs the full width of the hatch. About 12" in front of the opening, the well narrows slightly due to the rear wheel wells, but continues forward to the lip just behind the seats. Altogether it is a fairly useful space, which i use to go grocery shopping and just about everywhere but the lumber store. Chevy claims this is equivalent to 15 cu. ft. of luggage space - hold that thought.
The second photo shows the Ferrari 458. Two points - the rear spoiler extends about 12" forward from the TE and at the front of this space are two radiator inlets. The parting line for the engine hatch is at the edge of the glass in the black section. The volumes underneath the quarter panels are likely inaccessible and / or not useable for storage. (Any Ferrari 458 owners are welcome to chime in here.)
The third and fourth photos are of the new C8 coupe. Note it has a black glass window, roughly the same size as the 458's , but it also has a hatch parting line very similar in location to my C7. This implies a fairly large rear hatch, (or both a large rear hatch coupled with a smaller "hatch within a hatch" for engine access like the much smaller Ferrari hatch.) The parting lines for the quarter panel and spoiler breaks are pretty clear in these two pics (if you squint and the leopard spots don't trigger your astigmatism !!).
What is the significance of this ? Unless the C8 rear end is smaller than my C7, that implies there is space for a rectangular storage compartment roughly 10.5" deep by 12" in width by ~65" long across the back of the car, behind the engine compartment. Just the right size for a set of golf clubs ! That figures to about 6.5 cu. ft. of space. Coming with about 7-8 cu. ft. of space in the "frunk" you come up with about, (wait for it), about 15 cu. ft. of storage space. I don't think that is an accident. Corvette "bandwidth" has been preserved for an important parameter for many potential buyers.
One other point is how this is made possible in the Corvette but not in the Ferrari, (or other current ME cars). The Ferrari is an aluminum monocoque structure in which the body panels themselves form the structure for the suspension, support for the engine, etc. In a mid-engine monocoque, a big top hatch in the back end likely would compromise the car's structural rigidity and so the Ferrari is built with a small access hatch on the topside for routine engine maintenance, and a removable lower subframe to drop the entire rear drivetrain out of the bottom of the car for major service or repair. There have been exceptions to this approach, like the DeTomaso/Ford Pantera which also had a big hatch and pulled the engine out of the top, but not many others have done it this way, since "lifts" have become common in most service garages.
The Corvette has always been a semi-monocoque with non-structural SMC and / or composite skins - somewhat like Porsche 917 race car. It utilizes a strong aluminum frame to hold the suspension, the passenger "tub" and the engine. If you look at the massive engine mounting / rear suspension frame suggested by the CAD drawings released a year or so ago, there is NO WAY to get the engine out of the bottom of this car. It HAS TO come out through the top. Hence a big hatch, likely made light using carbon-fiber composites, ("rags and glue"). The other benefit of such construction is the capability to provide access to a rear storage compartment above the transaxle and the exhaust systems. Way cool.
The first photo shows a dirty C7 but the parting lines of the hatch go from about 1" inside the quarter-panel highlight across the front of the Z51 spoiler, and all the way to the other quarter panel. For those who do not have a C7, the hatch opens here and the floor of the well underneath is ~10.5" deep and runs the full width of the hatch. About 12" in front of the opening, the well narrows slightly due to the rear wheel wells, but continues forward to the lip just behind the seats. Altogether it is a fairly useful space, which i use to go grocery shopping and just about everywhere but the lumber store. Chevy claims this is equivalent to 15 cu. ft. of luggage space - hold that thought.
The second photo shows the Ferrari 458. Two points - the rear spoiler extends about 12" forward from the TE and at the front of this space are two radiator inlets. The parting line for the engine hatch is at the edge of the glass in the black section. The volumes underneath the quarter panels are likely inaccessible and / or not useable for storage. (Any Ferrari 458 owners are welcome to chime in here.)
The third and fourth photos are of the new C8 coupe. Note it has a black glass window, roughly the same size as the 458's , but it also has a hatch parting line very similar in location to my C7. This implies a fairly large rear hatch, (or both a large rear hatch coupled with a smaller "hatch within a hatch" for engine access like the much smaller Ferrari hatch.) The parting lines for the quarter panel and spoiler breaks are pretty clear in these two pics (if you squint and the leopard spots don't trigger your astigmatism !!).
What is the significance of this ? Unless the C8 rear end is smaller than my C7, that implies there is space for a rectangular storage compartment roughly 10.5" deep by 12" in width by ~65" long across the back of the car, behind the engine compartment. Just the right size for a set of golf clubs ! That figures to about 6.5 cu. ft. of space. Coming with about 7-8 cu. ft. of space in the "frunk" you come up with about, (wait for it), about 15 cu. ft. of storage space. I don't think that is an accident. Corvette "bandwidth" has been preserved for an important parameter for many potential buyers.
One other point is how this is made possible in the Corvette but not in the Ferrari, (or other current ME cars). The Ferrari is an aluminum monocoque structure in which the body panels themselves form the structure for the suspension, support for the engine, etc. In a mid-engine monocoque, a big top hatch in the back end likely would compromise the car's structural rigidity and so the Ferrari is built with a small access hatch on the topside for routine engine maintenance, and a removable lower subframe to drop the entire rear drivetrain out of the bottom of the car for major service or repair. There have been exceptions to this approach, like the DeTomaso/Ford Pantera which also had a big hatch and pulled the engine out of the top, but not many others have done it this way, since "lifts" have become common in most service garages.
The Corvette has always been a semi-monocoque with non-structural SMC and / or composite skins - somewhat like Porsche 917 race car. It utilizes a strong aluminum frame to hold the suspension, the passenger "tub" and the engine. If you look at the massive engine mounting / rear suspension frame suggested by the CAD drawings released a year or so ago, there is NO WAY to get the engine out of the bottom of this car. It HAS TO come out through the top. Hence a big hatch, likely made light using carbon-fiber composites, ("rags and glue"). The other benefit of such construction is the capability to provide access to a rear storage compartment above the transaxle and the exhaust systems. Way cool.
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