Mid-Engine Corvette is Actually Happening!!!

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 05/16/2016 at 07:22 • Filed to: Corvette

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We’re hearing this from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ! Err...again...per tradition....hmmmm....But, BUT there are 458s, 911 Turbos (not the turbo Turbos, just the Turbos), a GTR, an i8, and umm....it’s coming!! We mean it this time!! Yeah, we mean it everytime...but THIS time...f*ckin’ positive, mayne!!! Did we also mention a ZR1 (ZoRa1) will be at next year’s NAIAS? Yeah, totes gonna be there!! Then one year later, BOOM!! C8 all over yo’ face, with the current stingray V8 for one year and then a brand new V8!!!

Car and Driver, stawp!!! If it’s coming, it’s coming. We know it’s important to you to be THE automotive news source for this model. This has been your white whale for like 65 years and you’ll be damned if the Taiwanese Furniture Journal gets news before you because GM had them do an article on Building 54's new break room pouffes and they happen to see it behind the water cooler. You guys have made this rumor so entwined with the fabric of America that it’s as central to the tapestry as Elvis judging the Annual Wife Rolling Competition in Boodanks, Missouri.

I hope GM gives you guys the exclusive at the reveal, you really have earned. But damn it C&D, stop surveillancing the building and maybe we would have had the thing before all the benchmark cars were replaced with 600hp super-turbo store-goers! You’ve got drones hovering over the place, satellite imaging, thermal scans, pigeons wearing wires, and who knows how many times Aaron Robinson has been dressed up like a Girl Scout and sent to the front door with cookies and Mobil 1 coupons.

*sigh* I do think something big is about to happen though, the Camaro has gone crazy as a sportscar, 100% of articles written about the CTS-V have the word “Corvette” in them, and everyone is literally selling themselves to get on the Ford GT waiting list. The world is ready, but are our pants?

LongbowMkII > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 08:41

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I have no interest in a MR vette. Then again the C7 vette is boring as well.

Jayhawk Jake > LongbowMkII 05/16/2016 at 08:59

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The C7 is boring? What?

Enlighten me, what makes a car ‘exciting’ to you?

PatBateman > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 09:08

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I don’t believe them.

The C7 is too popular to chunk it into the annals of history yet. Also, $80k for a BASE Corvette?! Hell to the naw!

I would expect the C8 to hit in 2020, but not yet. Not just yet.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 09:19

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I will put it in the garage with my 4th generation rx7

Jayhawk Jake > PatBateman 05/16/2016 at 09:25

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If there is an MR corvette, I can’t imagine it will replace the current design. I would think it would be a second model. You would have the “stingray” traditional corvette, then at a much higher price a mid engined “super car”

Wobbles the Mind > PatBateman 05/16/2016 at 09:27

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I honestly think GM is working on breaking Corvette into a subbrand. So the regular Chevy lineup will be just like Ford’s, where the pony car covers everything the brand needs. The C7/8 Corvette might become the Corvette Zora Stingray/Z06 and hit the 911/F-Type in performance while this RMR Corvette Chapparel goes for the luxury side of getting 911 buyers.

Obviously the Corvette brand will still be in the same dealership since most dealers already have the ‘Vettes in their own area and special mechanics and customer services. It would just be taking that aspect up a notch and be similar to how Land Rover does Range Rover or how Hyundai will sell Genesis in the same dealerships.

This is the only thing that makes any business sense to my mind. There is zero reason to change the ‘Vette. The competition in it’s price range are all Boxster/Cayman figthers and all (including the upcoming F-Type) will have 4-cyl engines. The Corvette is like the Wrangler in terms of competition in its segment...no competition! However, a slight separation of branding, a new layout, and a focus on the luxury end of value instead of the performance end will get Porsche and Jaguar buyers not having any excuse not to shop the ‘Vettes.

Urambo Tauro > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 09:27

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A mid-engine Chevy sports car sounds great. But it shouldn’t be called a “Corvette”.

If you’re going to make a car that’s so fundamentally different that the engine is in a completely different place, it doesn’t count as a new generation of an existing car. It’s a completely new car altogether.

And it shouldn’t replace the Corvette, either. The Corvette has been and always should be a FR car.

Wobbles the Mind > Urambo Tauro 05/16/2016 at 09:34

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Completely agree, and I know GM agrees since every exec has owned a Corvette since its introduction. I do think they are working on a direct 911 competitor (in luxury and tech over performance bargain). Have you noticed how many cars are in the $100k club now? GM is completely missing out and a RMR Cadillac isn’t going to get them there before the end of the decade.

facw > Urambo Tauro 05/16/2016 at 09:43

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I think the fact that they’ve done mid-engined concepts in the past gives them an out:

(also note primitive analog to Tesla’s falcon door there)

I can’t imagine they’d replace the FR ‘vette, but I could see them introducing a higher-end model.

Wheelerguy > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 09:48

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Tangent: I kind of think Porsche can still keep the 911 RSR rear-mounted and still have a giant diffuser by making the engine smaller, probably a 2.7-liter twin-turbo.

Urambo Tauro > facw 05/16/2016 at 09:58

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I can bite my tongue when it comes to concepts, because the Corvette is GM’s top-performing sports car. Using the name to introduce a concept sounds like a case of not-knowing-what-else-to-call-it. But it does help to convey the idea of “it’s like a Corvette, but better”. It really needs its own name before hitting production, though.

I can understand GM’s desire to continue to push the Corvette name as their-top performing sports car. But implementing drastic changes in drivetrain layout is going too far, and it takes away from what the Corvette is. It’s kind of like the dehumanizing factor in the concept of futuristic bionic limbs. I’m not talking about amputees; I’m talking about the idea of cutting off one’s perfectly good flesh arm for the purpose of fitting a high-performance replacement. The Corvette should aspire to be the best a FR car can be.

LongbowMkII > Jayhawk Jake 05/16/2016 at 10:12

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Nothing in particular. The C7 just strikes me as utterly generic. Lots of power, but just doesn't strike my button.

Jayhawk Jake > LongbowMkII 05/16/2016 at 10:22

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Generic? A 450 hp V8 in an outrageous body capable of hitting 60 in less than 4 seconds with a 7 speed manual transmission, tons of features like a heads up display, magnetic ride control, cylinder deactivation...

You can not like it, that’s fine. But to go so far as to call it ‘generic’ is a bit ridiculous.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 10:27

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I’m willing to bet this mid-engine ‘Vette will be a once a decade project much in the same fashion as the Ford GT. I don’t think the regular ‘Vette needs to switch from front-mid to rear-mid. The engine will just slowly creep backwards much like the engine in the 911 is slowly creeping forward.

I’d put money down this isn’t a direct replacement for the ‘Vette, more like a once a decade halo car with a short production run, say ~2-3 years. Wait a decade, rinse and repeat.

LongbowMkII > Jayhawk Jake 05/16/2016 at 10:48

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Outrageous is subjective. It tries, but it only looks like an unlicensed video game car to me. I love almost all vettes the C7 just leaves me cold.

WiscoProud > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 11:15

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I don’t think Chevy will ever put an engine behind the driver in a Corvette. But I could see them a front mid-engine design. Think of a Viper. Actually, I see that technically Corvettes are already front mid engine. I still don't think they would put the engine behind the driver though.

random001 > Urambo Tauro 05/16/2016 at 11:28

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The Corvette has pretty much always been a mid-engine car, with an almost always perfect 50/50 weight distribution, so really, I don’t see the big deal. Yes, the engine is in front of the driver, but behind the front wheels, so Mid-Engine. Not even joking. If anything, it’s a MFR, for mid-front/rear, or even more apt, motherf$#%^@r....

We could call it the Chevrolet GT?

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 11:32

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I believe Chevy is working to make Corvette it’s own brand.

1. They already separate the Camaro, SS, and Corvette from the rest of the lineup online.

2. Camaro and Corvette already have their own logos and emblems.

3. GM always neuters Cadillac by saying “nothing can top Corvette. ” This isn’t a problem though if Corvette is its own brand that competes with Ferrari and Porsche.

4. Only one more car is needed for it to be its own performance brand.

Camaro: beats up M4s’ and C63 coupes

Corvette: beats up AMG GTs’ and V8 Vantages

Mid engined super “Corvette” : beats up Ferraris, McLarens and the Ford GT

This also let's Cadillac push the luxury angle easier by having a dedicated performance brand. All performance Cadillacs would then be "powered by Corvette" like a Maserati that's more reliable lol

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 12:59

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When I saw you reference GM getting into the higher end luxury game in another post, I thought you were out of your mind. Cadillac, despite well received cars, just can’t seem to get the market traction one would expect.

However, a Corvette sub-brand makes a lot of sense and I think could do well in an up scaled market.

StoneCold > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 13:42

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I just need more Cheetah in our lives. The engine is basically in the middle.

briannutter1 > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 19:50

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People won’t like it because it power-on understeers out of car shows and autocrosses....pining for the days when they could do a Scandinavian flick to set it into a corner and bang another gear. Will mop up up at hpde and Trans am series competition with 20 mm restrictor, but doesn’t matter because of need for parity.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Wobbles the Mind 05/16/2016 at 22:29

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I could see this as a Cadillac, made by the corvette team since (guessing) they have the most sportscar related experience.