RE: Mid-engined Corvette spied testing
Discussion
I bet the conversations inside GM and the Corvette division have been fascinating — the mid-engined Corvette idea is almost as old as the car itself. So, I wonder whether they see this is as their original idea that far less performance-orientated competitors — specifically Audi and Honda — have grabbed and made successful?
Certainly there's been a clear cycle of perception of every new Corvette since the C3 — each new iteration claims to be a huge leap forward over its predecessor, which after its been out a year or so, everyone acknowledges as being primitive and agricultural.
I wonder whether there's a bit of corporate insecurity at work here.
Modern Corvettes have always been at the top of horsepower charts and pioneered a lot of technology — adaptive dampers, carbon brakes, carbon chassis, aggressive aero and more — that isn't found in any of their competitors. Indeed for the price in the US, the Corvette doesn't have any real competition. So, is this move to mid-engine layout just another way of them shouting "We're a legitimate sports car as good as the Europeans" when nobody actually said they weren't?
Certainly there's been a clear cycle of perception of every new Corvette since the C3 — each new iteration claims to be a huge leap forward over its predecessor, which after its been out a year or so, everyone acknowledges as being primitive and agricultural.
I wonder whether there's a bit of corporate insecurity at work here.
Modern Corvettes have always been at the top of horsepower charts and pioneered a lot of technology — adaptive dampers, carbon brakes, carbon chassis, aggressive aero and more — that isn't found in any of their competitors. Indeed for the price in the US, the Corvette doesn't have any real competition. So, is this move to mid-engine layout just another way of them shouting "We're a legitimate sports car as good as the Europeans" when nobody actually said they weren't?
I find it difficult to get my head around a mid-engined Corvette. There are certain advantages/characteristics with its current FR layout and the switch to MR means it will be a completely different car in every aspect but the name. The Z06 and ZR1 versions are expected to come with a DOHC and even a hybrid powertrain is being considered for the Zora, so power will probably be delivered in an un-corvette fashion too. The reason behind the radical change, Chevrolet says, is that the chassis of the current gen car has reached its limit but I suspect a completely new FR chassis developed from the scratch will solve that. Front engined machines in Japan's Super GT have been doing well against their mid-engined rivals for decades.
RumbleOfThunder said:
Also it looks more and more ugly the more I see. Hopefully those horrible proportions are flattered when the camo comes off.
I really don't want to agree with you, but I have to agree with you. It's just so generic and kit-carish. Chevrolet styling which used to be leader of the pack, has definitely lost its' way recently. I had a similar feeling about one of the recent Camaros when I saw one from behind. I thought it was one of those really gross GRP kit coupes from the '80s.As nonPH as this comment is, the fascinating thing is going to be how much luggage space they can squeeze in. A large part of the Corvette's appeal has always been its usability; if this can't take a suitcase or a week's shopping there's going to be an awful lot of existing C7 owners who end up looking elsewhere.
Not that a Corvette priced mid-engined super sports car type thing wont be a fabulous addition to the market, but I can't help but feel there was room for both formulae.
Not that a Corvette priced mid-engined super sports car type thing wont be a fabulous addition to the market, but I can't help but feel there was room for both formulae.
Edited by kambites on Monday 1st July 15:35
kambites said:
As nonPH as this comment is, the fascinating thing is going to be how much luggage space they can squeeze in. A large part of the Corvette's appeal has always been its usability...
+1a core brand insight
and whilst one hopes for the (somewhat celebrated) utility of the daily driver, most of us are resigned to seeing less of it in this newest Corvette
Not a huge Corvette fan in the least, but I think the front engined car has pretty much gone as far as it could given the ever increasing performance of other sports cars. Very hard to see yet if it will be attractive, but I will wait and see. One of the true weaknesses of the Vette for me was the cheap and plasticky interior. If they want to supply a premium-priced car they will need to fix this.
As an aside, it is strange right now that we are seeing so many new ultra performance cars as the regulators everywhere tighten every possible standard, lower speed limits, ban cars in cities, add cameras ,that there are endless protests about climate change, Germany's most popular political party is now the greens. The Vette is mainly an American domestic product and it will take a long time before the US changes its regulations, but even there the speed limits are low; Keeping a car like this nowadays is like having a pet tiger...you basically have to keep it caged.
Still, glad to see it arrive.
As an aside, it is strange right now that we are seeing so many new ultra performance cars as the regulators everywhere tighten every possible standard, lower speed limits, ban cars in cities, add cameras ,that there are endless protests about climate change, Germany's most popular political party is now the greens. The Vette is mainly an American domestic product and it will take a long time before the US changes its regulations, but even there the speed limits are low; Keeping a car like this nowadays is like having a pet tiger...you basically have to keep it caged.
Still, glad to see it arrive.
kambites said:
Not that a Corvette priced mid-engined super sports car type thing wont be a fabulous addition to the market....
I think that's going to be the fundamental question - price in UK. If they get fancy with the pricing it'll be trying to sell against a carbon, twin-turbo McLaren.Roll on 18th July!
RDMcG said:
it will take a long time before the US changes its regulations,
if you're speaking of emissions controls, you may be mis-speakingthe US was first with catalytic converters... beating many European countries by a decade
for most of the last 40 years, the US generally led on emissions controls -- thus the requirement for European cars to be de-tuned when exported to the US
and California -- a state with 40 million people and a GDP that is both fourth in the world and greater than that of the UK -- leading in both emissions controls as well as adoption of alternative powertrains
a dozen other US states have abandoned US federal emissions standards to join California -- embracing and enforcing California standards within their own borders
sorry... not sorry
unsprung said:
if you're speaking of emissions controls, you may be mis-speaking
the US was first with catalytic converters... beating many European countries by a decade
for most of the last 40 years, the US generally led on emissions controls -- thus the requirement for European cars to be de-tuned when exported to the US
and California -- a state with 40 million people and a GDP that is both fourth in the world and greater than that of the UK -- leading in both emissions controls as well as adoption of alternative powertrains
a dozen other US states have abandoned US federal emissions standards to join California -- embracing and enforcing California standards within their own borders
sorry... not sorry
I understand that - my point is that the current environment if anything appears to be moving backwards, and further , there is very little evidence of the London-type congestion charges for instance. I do think that the new car will be safe domestically for its design life. Yes, there is certainly work one alternative power and I see the Tesla superchargers stations in many places;the US was first with catalytic converters... beating many European countries by a decade
for most of the last 40 years, the US generally led on emissions controls -- thus the requirement for European cars to be de-tuned when exported to the US
and California -- a state with 40 million people and a GDP that is both fourth in the world and greater than that of the UK -- leading in both emissions controls as well as adoption of alternative powertrains
a dozen other US states have abandoned US federal emissions standards to join California -- embracing and enforcing California standards within their own borders
sorry... not sorry
I no longer think that the US will lead in emission standards. Many of the engines dropped in from production in the least few years are because of Euro and not US standards. For in stance, the current top end Camaro is being dropped from importation for this reason as I recall.
No big deal, just an opinion.
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