ZL-1

Next-gen Corvette to get AWD?
Posted Oct 3rd 2007 1:05PM by John Neff
Filed under: Coupes, Supercars, Chevrolet, GM

Hot on the heels of discovering the next-gen Corvette could be offered with a dual-clutch transmission, word is now filtering out that General Motors may be working on adapting the Haldex-sourced XWD all-wheel-drive system currently available on the 2008 Saab 9-3 for use on Chevy's budget supercar. The Haldex XWD is a robust system, as it can send up to 85% of the engine's power to a single wheel.

Auto Motor and Sport in Sweden reports that GM engineers have been seen testing a mule with a wider rear track than any Saab currently available, which suggests the system is already in development for the next-gen Corvette. We're not sure whether to place this piece of news in the fact file or keep it on the rumor pile, as information surrounding the next-gen Corvette has been swirling since GM's contract with the UAW was leaked and revealed some juicy details. Will it switch to the smaller Kappa platform (production of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky is set to switch to the Corvette's facility in Bowling Green, KY in a few years). What about rumors of a mid-engine exotic Corvette to be built and sold alongside the traditional model? There's too much static to pick out fact from fiction, though the dual-clutch transmission seems like a definite lock since it was referenced in official documents. GM, of course, is silent on the subject.

[Source: Auto Motor and Sport]

bernrex

Nice .... I'd pop for it. A system that can be 'selected' to AWD/RWD would be perfect. There are occasions when RWD needs to be dialed in.

hip_about_time

....Such as in a big open wet parking lot!

Acropora

Any idea when the next gen vette would be available to buy? Thinking C7 here.

ZL-1

Its looking like 2012 right now, but GM in general and Corvette in particular have a habit of pushing back the schedule for new models. It happened in 1967, 1983, and the C5 was several years late, finally arriving 1/2 way through 1997.

chrisf9801

You'd need mad HP/TQ, AWD systems are very heavy.

hip_about_time

And is it just coincidence or do most assembly line AWD vehicles (Audi, Subaru) seem to have a REALLY High (vertically) center of gravity? I assumed it had to do with packaging the transfer cases but I am sure some one in here knows.

I mean wouldnt you need to put the front drive case in FRONT of the engine to keep it from raising the engine up past the plane of the wheels? I hate front wheel drive cars because of the way the engine sets way up over the transmision causing a moment about the plane of the wheels in cornering, and the reason front wheel drives all seem balanced to understeer. Maby there could be some way to package it horizontally with a wider platform.

Jeff V.

Why on Earth would they use a Saab as a Corvette powertrain mule? The driveline layout is totally wrong.

It'd make more sense to just hide it under a conventional Z06.

Greybeard ZR1

"Dual Clutch Transmission" doesn't refer to all wheel drive applications. It means a sequential manual gearbox, like Ferrari's.

A lot of us have been waiting for this improvement to come across the pond for years. Imagine a Corvette with a manual transmission (without a clutch pedal) that can be programmed to put along in bumper to bumper traffic like an automatic, and show up at the dragstrip to bang through the gears quicker than a human can shift, flawlessly.

At last, a "paddle shift" manual, not the glorified automatic available in the current Corvette.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/corvette...nsmission.html

An excellent tutorial on "Dual clutch" trannies:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/dual-c...ansmission.htm

Sign me up for one

1991Z07

Yeah...according to the newest issue of Motor Trend, they (GM) really wanted to get the C7 out as a 2011 model for Chevrolet's 100th anniversary, but it's looking more like 2012 now.