calmtgguy

General Motors announced it will begin production of the C7 Corvette sports car in April of 2012 in advance of a scheduled launch as a 2013 model. The announcement was made as part of GM’s two-year product plan for its four core brands – Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

This news brings the C7 to market a full year earlier that expected. The next generation Corvette was originally scheduled for a 2014 launch. It seems the General Motors, emerging from bankruptcy, is anxious to capitalize on the interest that is always created by the arrival of a new generation Corvette, and in this case, on the 60th Anniversary of Corvette.

The C7 Corvette is likely to have a smaller, lighter body using more lightweight materials such as carbon fiber, aluminum and magnesium.

The new Corvette may even include a smaller, yet more efficient engine, but with its lighter body it should retain the necessary power-to-weight ratio demanded from Corvette owners. It's nearly impossible to imagine a Corvette without a V8, but some interesting options are on the table. A twin-turbo V6 is a very strong possibility," A twin-turbo version of the direct-injection 3.6-liter DOHC V6 that's currently in the Cadillac CTS could easily pump out 400 hp, just short of today's 430hp LS3 V8.

While there very well could be a V6 as the base engine, a pushrod V8 will certainly be a part of the plan as it is part of the Corvette Tradition . In light of new fuel economy restrictions from the Obama administration, the displacement will certainly be down from today's 6.2-liter and 7.0-liter engine sizes, to between 5.0- and 5.7-liter. Turbocharging and variable valve timing are distinct possibilities to make those smaller V8s comparable with today's V8. A dual-clutch gearbox is also not out of the question either if GM wants to keep up with the Porsche 911 or even the Nissan GT-R. It's still too early to know exactly what the powertrain lineup will look like, but expect three levels of performance similar to today's, base model, Z06 and ZR1. Yes, the ZR1 could live on as a C7.
To sum it up, all this also means that the Corvette design and engineering team will now have the resources and the corporate blessing to move full speed ahead on a new Corvette that could see changes to America's sports car that include a smaller, lighter body, greater use of advanced weight-saving materials like carbon fiber, aluminum and magnesium and perhaps a smaller engine but one that will still provide the power-to-weight ratio that Corvette owners have become accustomed to.

At the NCM's C5-C6 Birthday Bash in April of this year, Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter reassured the Corvette owners present that the team is always thinking about the next generation Corvette and how to make it better. Now that the mid-engine layout has once again been tossed aside, Tadge's engineering team will have essentially just a couple of years to make these engineering decisions and test them in mules which we could see as early as 2011.

Styling-wise, the car could look similar to that of the Corvette Stingray Concept that appeared at the Chicago Motor Show this year. However, in today's economy, a complete retooling of the Bowling Green plant would be very expensive ( one reason the mid-engine design was ruled out ). We believe the new C7 will be more of a transition and refinement of the C6 body style. It may be though, that the design team will see that owners would accept more of a radical departure from the looks of the C5 and C6.

calmtgguy

GM's VP of Global Design Ed Welburn told Inside Line that the design of the new C7 Corvette will go retro much like the new Camaro and a prominent design feature will be the return of the split rear window. The next generation Corvette is expected to be launched in 2012 as a 2013 model.

The original split window appeared on the 1963 Corvette Coupe, but Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov hated the feature due to its limited visibility and in 1964 it was removed. Welburn addresses the visibility issue by saying "With the back-up cameras and blind-spot detection systems that we have these days, the visibility issue is much less of a problem."

The Corvette Stingray Concept that appeared in the latest Transformers movie also has a split rear window. "That car is not the next Corvette." says Welburn, "But the split-window is something that I expect for the next Corvette."

Welburn was the driving force behind the new reborn Camaro and is a big fan of the Corvette Stingray concept design as evidenced in this previously released Stingray Concept Introduction video.

As stated earlier, Inside Line says the C7 Corvette will have the traditional front-engine, rear drive layout.
Sources: Inside Line and Corvetteblogger.com

GotVett?

We'll be hearing about this for some time alright. I'll be holding on to mine for a couple of years anyway so it could be good timing or I could just be holding on to mine period.

calmtgguy

At 3 - 4000 miles a year, mine will be around a very long time.

Silverspeed

All I need to read right here. I am so freaking tired of this retro bullsh*t. Cars need to evolve, not return to the past. This is especially true for GM, who needs to put the past as far behind them as possible. I WILL NOT be buying a retro Corvette. YOMV.

MarkRx

Silver05GTO

Not sure how to take this new info yet.......lower hp motors, smaller in size........I thought GM tried that and failed with the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice. If they are going to offer a V6 they should go all out and just slap a 4-cylinder in there.

NVR LAT

Interesting and good stuff. At least now I know that my C6 body style will still be good for a couple more years. The only thing I would question is the split window. At the January NCRS event in Kissimmee, FL, Tom Hill from the Corvette design team (I think design team, it could be some other department of the Corvettes evolution) gave a presentation of the new Grand Sport and afterwards held a Q & A period. The split window was brought up and he said it was definately not going to be part of any new Corvette. I don't think anybody really knows for sure.

WAwatchnut

The possiblity of a twin turbo 6 doesn't bother me, nor does lighter weight through advanced materials (even though they'll drive up cost).

What does scare me however, is this quote:

If function follows form, you end up with diluted products, designed to sell lots of units, not necessarily to provide the best performance. Sure, you can overcome the split window by adding more stuff to the car... but why use a bad design that you have to add more cost, complexity and weight to get around???

Retro design, for the sake of a "cool" look that (they hope) sells cars, is bad if it means they have less functional designs, or have to make the car more complex and expensive and heavy. But for some people, it's all about the look. Personally, I bought a Corvette because of performance, price, and looks, in that order.

At least the "in" look isn't '57 retro.... otherwise, they'd be integrating fins...

djdinoe

I didn't dig the Stingray concept from the DET Motorshow. If it's anything remotely close to that, I think I'll just skip this generation. However, the twinturbo is calling my name. I love the feeling of boost.

bapd77

If it's the Stingray concept in the Transformers movie, I won't be getting a new Corvette until the C8 comes out.

TommyV

Whatever it is, I hope they put some decent seats in it.

humvet

Split window or not, I am quite interested in seeing what it will look like.

eurostyle

GM should get transplanted an Italian mind, look what Ferrari is doing, one beautiful car after the other. Retro, give me a break, split window, totally insane.

User 2623

Agreed the concept needs work front and back, but it's certainly a work in progress. I'm confident they'll get it right. They've been on a roll with the C5 & C6 as styling leaders. But I think we're looking at more of a soft evolution of the car than a drastic design statement . GM can't roll the dice under their present situation and should be looking to positon the vette along the lines of a Fisker Karma. Certainly void of the luxury ques that would be more in line with Cadillac. Hybrid without comprimising on fuel based horse power, and all the green benefits of a plugin. Best of both worlds....

That's clearly the winning ticket. Don't see why they can't bring that to market. They've got the technology ... supposedly.

fast fred

Could be interesting,at least it gives me another two years to get into a Z06 with a real v8,the way things look the Z06 will probably be my last corvette......maybe a F car from europe..

70454

What's funny is that everybody is gonna hate it until it debuts....then they're still gonna hate it.....then they're gonna buy one.....then they're gonna add chicklets to make it look like a 2014....etc.

vettedoogie

Super-secret photos of the "new" C7.



I'll believe it coming out in 2012 when I see it. Doom and gloomers will hate it no matter what.

I stand by my prediction of all Corvettes having an aluminum frame for the C7, making all forms (vert, targa, solid top) doable with a single basic frame design that then adds components as needed. Saw Alcoa CEO in an interview talking Monday about many more aluminum components being developed for domestic cars as we speak. I'm guessing that means frames.

Supercrewbear

I'm curious to see the new C7 too. Though I'm not all that in to the "retro" stuff... When the Dodge Challenger came out in pics I was curious and thought it looked nice -- the reality to me is something different and I'm not all that wild about it. Though I do like the Mustang well enough the interior totally turns me off -- it's not awful, just not what I'd want to look at every day. And the Camaro -- I really, really wanted to like that car a LOT, but I don't. It's nice looking but... I originally thought if I really couldn't afford a new Corvette that a new Camaro would be a good 2nd choice. I have a new Grand Sport on order... I think I like the Camaro's retro-ized interior better than the Mustang's but I still don't want to look at it on a daily basis. I guess my not liking the retro stuff too much is because I've had all of those old cars and when I buy something new I want something fresh -- the younger people (kids?) who never really lived with what manufactures are trying to mimic with their retro styling have never really seen this stuff before so I guess it's "fresh" for them. Everyone has their own opinion and I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes...

If the new Corvette looks anything like what I saw for the C7 on the cover of either Motor Trend or Car & Driver a year or so ago I'll be interested -- my GS will be 2-3 years old by then and I *might* be interested in trading.

ATC399

And make mine 41U