petermj

Lotus is a lot like shelby, cashing in on the brand recognition while selling overpriced and underperforming crap. Lotus apparently moved up with camry motor, must be an improvement from isuzu they stuffed in that FWD Elan. I doubt vette will go back to C4 45 inch height, the majority of buyers need an easier access And apparently that tucked under look is a hit with buyers and clearguard sellers. I can assure you that widebody vette is a completely different animal when the bottom is widened and fender flares extended to cover the tires. I know because I am over half way there right now just building my own.

Racer X

The 2006 Elise with Sport package could go 0-60 in 4.0 seconds. That compared favorably to the base Corvette and it had a base price in the 40's. It's handling was/is far better than the Corvette. It's performance at street speeds very good. It suffered compared to the Corvette above 70mph. Hardly underperforming and over priced. Sure you had to work it hard to get there, like 8000 rpm clutch dumps to get 4.0 0-60. Would it have been a more exciting car if they put the 345hp Evora S motor in it an kept the weight under 2200 pounds? Sure.

On the plus side it was very exotic. I was peppered with questions everywhere. People thought it cost over $100k. On the minus, it was not for the cushy crowd. It was purpose built to be light. That meant a lack of creature comforts and room, and ease of entry exit. Of course when I had my 86 Vette it wasn't exactly easy to get in and out of, and I was a lot younger and skinnier then. Both were great for dates with women in short skirts.

Lowering the roof line would make the Corvette look wider. It would make entry a little trickier.

Jp23rockstar

Guys, I'm new to this, how do know this corvette is a mule? Thanks!

chaase

What else could it be? It is a C6 corvette with some weird underpinnings and a strange exhaust layout.

ZL-1

Widening the lower body and extending the flares sounds interesting, be sure to post pictures. It might look better than the "running boards' used on the ZR1 and carbon cars. The trick will be to keep it from looking too "fat", especially if painted a light color. The "tucked under" look helps reduce the visual mass of a large sportscar.

petermj

this may take a few more months, right now, it is way too rough to show but I can assure you it is quite a sight and the car looks like a completely different animal and real animal too and you do not have to worry about rocks hitting the rear ducts or slapping splash guards on the front fenders... This stuff takes a long time because you in essence build your own car and some ideas have to be tweaked or scrapped altogether....

VetteLog

Corvette should be made the best super car and priced at no less than $100K.

Almost There

Ferrari sound....... = Flatplane Crank!!!????? =)

BSSN

and then it would lose its traditional customer base, change the entire point of the car, and lose its place as "America's Sports car" to the new mustang, which handles very well as of now, and will only improve when it gets IRS in '14 and is priced in the 30/40's.

VetteLog

^ I don't know how you define "traditional customer base" but I do know that Corvette always and still stand as the best performance sports car in America and it is that which draws its customers into -- history to date and hopefully, the future.

If it is the price of "no less than $100K" that you ascribe the loss of "traditional customer base", that price is just about the same as the price of the Vette historically, but now-adjusted + cost of improvement.

It is the same analogy as mentioned in the new survey that Vette (brand new) buyers are earning an average of $140K annually.

If I may, I think what has changed is the "traditional used Vette customer base". They are becoming younger, more eager to modify, and wants a cheaper price so they can afford it.

ZL-1

This car is at the proving grounds, probably seeing a lot of W.O.T. When you look at Z06/NPP pipes at track days the two "open" pipes look completely black like that due to the rich mixture at W.O.T. With a closer picture I think we'd see that all 4 are shaped the same.

Looking carefully at the close-up of the rear we see the pipes are a couple inches higher than a C6. Much of the black panel has been cut out, up to the top rib. With pipes this far from the ground, the plan may be for the exhaust to exit through an opening in the rear body panel rather than below it (hopefully better-executed than on the Stingray/Sideswipe concepts )

JustinStrife

The Corvette use to be affordable for the average American. With your suggestion, that would no longer be the case. No thank you sir.

Rich Yanulis

Do you Guys think there will be a Z06 version available for sale in late 2013?

ZL-1

Not that soon. To get the most life out of the C7 design it's expected to be introduced as the coupe first, followed by the convertible, then the Z06.

Rich Yanulis

Yes, that makes common sense to me.........If you had to guess how long of an extra time will I have to wait to buy a C7 Z06?

Nitrous Oxide

So the current buyer would now have to spend 100% of his annual after tax wages on Corvette renewal every five years or so. That's on top of his 1 million dollar home mortgage.

ZL-1

I want one too. Optimistically I'd hope for the C7 Z06 as a 2015 model in September of 2014. But if the convertible debuts too much later than the coupe the Z06 could be even later.

JustinStrife

Well if you look at the C5 and C6 as any indication, you will have to wait at least 1 year, maybe several years longer before a Z06 option can come along.

ockie

The narrow wheels means nothing to me really. Narrow wheels are typical for test mules or anyone wanting to spare some $$ testing a car (the GS and Z06 tires are super expensive compared to the regular width C6 tires).


Only thing I can think of is that they are testing an engine, I can't really see anything else... it can't be a whole platform unless if GM is going to ride the same platform on the new vehicle which means not a whole lot will change.


For all we know they might just be testing new exhaust and sounds.

BSSN

Not really. My Dad had a 'vette when he was 19, and I bought my Z06 a few days before my 25th birthday. We are getting OLDER.

lets put it this way. A base 'vette goes for barely over $40K right now. Are you telling me that we will all be making 200% more money in 2-3 years? Further, a 1984 corvette, adjusted for inflation, is within a few thousand dollars of what a 2012 corvette costs.

Pricing the car at $100K is not adjusting anything. It's pricing the car outside of the range of middle-America.

Traditionally, the corvette was a car that the blue-collar "working man" could afford.

You're just wanting to have the right to swagger around in your plastic Chevy like you own something rare/exotic and it's never going to happen, and if that "never" comes to be, it's going to ruin the brand.

To me, the corvette is an alternative to the mustang for a few thousand more. Not an alternative to the Ferrari for a few hundred thousand less.