Bob Lutz Thinks Chevy Should Build a Mid-Engine Corvette

By Detroit Steel - January 15, 2015

bob lutz mid engine corvette

I certainly don’t need much convincing on the idea that Chevy should build the mid-engine Corvette we keep hearing about.

In fact, even though the cost would probably be too high for a lot of existing Corvette fans, I doubt that many really question if GM should build the car, especially after Ford’s unveiling of that new GT at the Detroit auto show. That thing, which I hear even had Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter drooling a little, is practically challenging Chevy to develop a more top-tier ‘Vette.

From a business perspective, it just makes sense. Bob Lutz certainly seems to think so and offers up a pretty good argument on why Chevy needs to build the car, as highlighted in an article he wrote for Road & Track.

mid engine corvette

The former GM Vice Chairman says that to make the idea more feasible, the car would probably have to be offered with an automatic transmission. He also strongly urges Chevy to name it Zora, which “would pay homage to one of the most brilliant engineers GM ever had, the father of the Corvette.”

Lutz believes the price of the mid-engine ‘Vette should be around $120,000, which I think is a long shot considering the top-of-the-line new Z06 is already hovering around that price point now. But Lutz believes that price would “suck the doors off everybody.”

Lutz also thinks that right now it’s about a 50/50 chance the mid-engine Corvette will be built, but I’d probably lean more toward 60/40 that it’s a go, given what it would do for the Chevy nameplate.

The Road &Track story shares a lot more of Lutz’s insight on the car, which you can read in its entirety here.