Detroit Steel

Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter flat-out denied reports of an upcoming mid-engine Corvette during a recent interview on Autoline After Hours.



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1KULC7

Does not surprise me, at least for this generation. This mid-engine issue comes up after the release of every new generation. Sells a lot of Motor Trend and Car and Driver Magazines, that is about it.

W88fixer

Doesn’t hurt my feelings. I think GM would prefer more C7 sales than a small number of “boutique” sales of a car north of $150K or whatever price a specialized mid engined Vette might cost. Don

daytonagary

Been a rumor and rumor only since 1960's. Never expected it now to be real either. When you have a C7 with perfect 50-50 weight distribution, not much to be gained by going rear engine.

11B250

I agree with what he has to say, but who knows, maybe it's skunkworks for GM and it will be something much different than a vette...

that being said, he did say he is prohibited from discussing future vehicles, so he might have had to deny it, because anything else would hint at it.

the corvette is a great all around vehicle. can anyone tell me any other sports car in this category that has such enormous trunk space? lol

OnPoint

I would expect Tadge is governed by the same non-disclosure obligation the rest of his team has.

Given that, I wouldn't expect him say anything about a new/another model until it's time to pull the wraps off it.

ivanjo11

Is going to be hard for Tadge and his crew to admit that the upcoming Ford GT is going to be America's best so i am pretty sure they will like to make a Mid engine Vette to compete against it and against the Ferraris 488 of the world.

catbert

Cadillac is currently the fair haired child at GM. The division is getting any resource it asks for, including moving its; "corporate" headquarters to a trendy New York City address. If Caddy want the new rear engine car as a halo in an attempt to "re-establish" the brand in the World market, they will get it. It will take a lot of the price point pressure off of GM if it's not branded as a Chevy. If it doesn't have a "Corvette" motor, it'll be a Caddy. JMHO

jvp

Are you sure they need to? Has the current architecture (front-mid engine, rear drive) of the Corvette ever had significant challenges dealing with the likes of the Ferrari or even the Ford GT?

WKMCD

Don't believe him for a minute. We have too many experts on the forum that know better and have provided pics.

RicK T

Two years ago he also said there was no A8 in the works for the Vette because they didn't need it and one wouldn't fit.

As pointed out already, he can't say anything but what he did say.

agapsdiver

I don't want the Corvette to go mid-engine...won't be "affordable" any more to the middle class.
I can see Cadillac going with a luxury mid-engine with all that includes...but I want my Corvette to stay a driver's car with a manual trans.

BIG Dave

Build a mid engine two seater at Bowling Green, slap a Cadillac badge on it and sell it through Cadillac dealerships. They will be able to sell it for money than if it was sold as a Chevy, and it won't be burdened by service at subpar Chevrolet dealerships. Oh wait, they already tried that with the XLR.

Harry2

In 2014 he also said that they were concentrating their resources into getting the A8 into the '15 Z06 and would not be releasing the A8 into the '15 model year Stingray.

dvilin

jschindler

Makes no sense. There already has been a mid engine Ford GT that sold for $150,000 and didn't phase the Corvette. Why would the new one rumored to be over $300,000 cause GM to care?

And Cadillac is discounting the hell out of their cars to sell them, especially the CTS V Sport. Dealers were discounting them $10,000 and they were still collecting dust when I looked at them six months ago. But the new guy from Infiniti thinks they need to hold the line on higher prices. I guess that's why Infiniti is doing so well

vettekat2007

I know he said they could not find a dual clutch automatic to fit. Did he also say that about an 8-speed automatic? I will be seeing him this week in Sebring. Maybe we can get him to talk about a mid-engine car without actually asking him if there is one in the works.

DAFFYDRUNK

I haven't really paid much attention to what the guy says, but if the guy has to lie to the public to maintain non disclosure, maybe stop taking questions as this forces bill$h!t answers. It's a bit insulting.

ivanjo11

The Z06 is a great car but it won't be able to compete with the new Ford GT or the amazing 488. Mid engine is simply the best layout for a sports cars.

Steve_R