ME’s SHORT Front End

[John]

While we all know that pictures can be deceiving, we equally know that the ME will have a much shorter front end than we are used to.



Admittedly this angle makes it look shorter than it probably is in real life.

[Mobius]

The shorter front-end should lead to an improved level of forward visibility and field of view.

[Busa Dave]

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drooling Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OnPoint]

The shorter front-end should lead to an improved level of forward visibility and field of view.

I agree - and that will be a welcome improvement, and it'll give the ME a decidedly different driving character than previous Corvettes.

[John]

Amazing how a picture’s perspective/angle alters the feels of how close the driver’s feet are to the front of the car. In this pic, it looks like they are just a few feet front the extreme front:



Yet in this one CorvetteBlogger located, it looks as if the driver’s feet are closer to the base of the windshield, about 3 feet from the front of the car.

[Frenzy36]

Should we wait to see the Frontal Crash Test Video before ordering one? Hummnn
I wonder if the front crumple zone is safer in the ME, or if the engine is going to want to follow through and crush the passengers in a heavy front impact?

[John]

Not worried in the slightest. GM passed front crash NHTSA tests with a 5 star rating in the Fiero which was designed in 1982, went into production as a 1983 model. In fact of all the vehicles NHTSA tested that year, the Fiero rated # 2 behind only the Volvo 740L.

And we know how safety systems have improved since. GM uses its Cray Supercomputer and so much more to internally test its cars safety systems, then does NHTSA testing. As Tadge noted on the C7, not only did they have to totally sacrifice 6 new C7’s with the standard GT seats, but another six cars with the Comp seats — as NHTSA requires each set of OEM seats to be separatedly tested, and pass all its tests.

[meyerweb]

Should we wait to see the Frontal Crash Test Video before ordering one? Hummnn
I wonder if the front crumple zone is safer in the ME, or if the engine is going to want to follow through and crush the passengers in a heavy front impact?

There are a great many ME cars that meet all federal crash test results. The lack of an engine in front is likely a plus in a front-end impact. Big engine blocks don't crush. Manufacturers have to do a lot of engineering to keep the engine out of the passenger compartment in a front end impact. In a ME car, the entire front is crush space. And in a rear end crash, the engine is going to tr to move backwards, towards the rear of the car -- that's an advantage, but the trade off is less crush space in the rear.

As for the engine coming through the passenger compartment from the rear, manufacturers seem to have figured out how to prevent that.

[OnPoint]

This may sound as somewhat overly cavalier, but I'm not worried about crashworthiness of this rig. One of our fun cars is a '68 GTO convertible we've driven all over Heaven's half acre and back. That rig would likely be a veritable death trap compared to any modern car, including ME cars. And we still take it out and enjoy it.

There are risks to everything, and trade-offs to any engineering platform. But, we've come a long, long way with safety in a relatively short time. I'll drive the ME with full confidence.

And I'll continue to drive the old goat - which is orders of magnitude more dangerous. . . LOL.

[Frenzy36]

Not worried in the slightest. GM passed front crash NHTSA tests with a 5 star rating in the Fiero which was designed in 1982, went into production as a 1983 model. In fact of all the vehicles NHTSA tested that year, the Fiero rated # 2 behind only the Volvo 740L.

And we know how safety systems have improved since. GM uses its Cray Supercomputer and so much more to internally test its cars safety systems, then does NHTSA testing. As Tadge noted on the C7, not only did they have to totally sacrifice 6 new C7’s with the standard GT seats, but another six cars with the Comp seats — as NHTSA requires each set of OEM seats to be separatedly tested, and pass all its tests.

It is amazing that the Fiero was one of the safest cars on the road! I actually slid one of those across an ice sheet and hit a telephone pole and was surprised I was not that injured compared to what the car looked like. And your absolutely right with all of the technology and testing over the years we should all feel much safer than ever.

[U.S. Marine]

I wonder if they will have problems with the shorter front when the C8.R Masterpiece is raced. Will there be a dramatic change in aero pieces for the front, stretch it out further, and widen the front. They all know that the C7.R Masterpiece is outstanding on the race circuit, wait until they wheel the C8.R Masterpiece out for some asphalt burning time. All of the other teams will want to switch over to the Corvette for their platform.

SF
Rick

[John]

I believe you are correct, that the front of the ME will be wider, and secondly, none of the C7’s aero pieces will work at all. As some point in the ME gneration, with some components starting right out of the box, we will see two completely new types of aero systems not offered on the C7, the active aero system GM patented in March of last year, and secondgreater more use of the body panels themselves (so called passive aero components) to create downforce with lesser comparative drag.

Here some links to help show those two developments.

https://www.midenginecorvetteforum.c...nt-from-c7’s

https://www.midenginecorvetteforum.c...re-active-aero

GM has a Cray supercomputer that evaluated the initial design concepts for the ME, and since used also two extensive wind tunnel aero testing facilities to insure the ME’s aero will be better than the C7’s (when factoring in the combo of downforce with simultaneously reduced drag). GM’s has the physically the largest wind tunnel of any OEM, and as of three years ago, add a “rolling plane” second wind tunnel to evaluate aero while vehicles are “moving.”

[meyerweb]

Should we wait to see the Frontal Crash Test Video before ordering one? Hummnn
I wonder if the front crumple zone is safer in the ME, or if the engine is going to want to follow through and crush the passengers in a heavy front impact?

One other thought: we'll probably never see crash test results for this car. Manufacturers do their own crash tests and submit results to NHTSA, but don't have to make them public. NHTSA and the IIHS concentrate their testing on cars (and trucks) that sell in much larger volumes than sports cars, where their efforts will have the greatest impact. Pretty sure neither organization has tested any Corvettes.

[meyerweb]

I wonder if they will have problems with the shorter front when the C8.R Masterpiece is raced. Will there be a dramatic change in aero pieces for the front, stretch it out further, and widen the front. They all know that the C7.R Masterpiece is outstanding on the race circuit, wait until they wheel the C8.R Masterpiece out for some asphalt burning time. All of the other teams will want to switch over to the Corvette for their platform.

Rick

Sadly, the C7.R has been getting beaten regularly by the Ford GT of late. A big part of the reason why Chevy is going ME. For track purposes, ME just offers a much bigger window of performance.