Tadge Juechter Says No Mid-Engine Corvette Zora/ZR1 Planned
03-17-2015, 12:18 AM
#21
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03-17-2015, 08:55 AM
#22
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"Ask Tadge" Producer
But...but...the magazines said there would be...
03-17-2015, 09:04 AM
#24
Drifting
Had a chance to meet Tadge at a Museum bash a couple of years ago before the C7 came out and asked the same question, the answer was no then. I think GM is still recovering from it's down fall in '09 and happy they can produce the C7. We are still not out of the woods yet the economy is still in the toilet major companies are still laying off big, and the production of the Hellcat has been put on hold. Even if there was a mid engine the cost of a car like that and the number of people able to purchase it would be very small. GM has to many other models to keep the wheel moving to survive.
Last edited by myfunz; 03-17-2015 at 09:23 AM.
03-17-2015, 09:10 AM
#25
Melting Slicks
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If true, I'm a bit disappointed. Was looking for a 2020 $75K base mid-engine w/ electric assist 918 killer. No complaints w/ my C7 though, best corvette ever made IMO 
03-17-2015, 10:12 AM
#27
Melting Slicks
Well, If no mid engine what will it be. They need to introduce something mid term of the C7 run. The C5 got the Z06, The C6 got the Grand Sport. There needs to be something to keep the interest up ...
03-17-2015, 05:29 PM
#28
Melting Slicks
Had a chance to meet Tadge at a Museum bash a couple of years ago before the C7 came out and asked the same question, the answer was no then. I think GM is still recovering from it's down fall in '09 and happy they can produce the C7. We are still not out of the woods yet the economy is still in the toilet major companies are still laying off big, and the production of the Hellcat has been put on hold. Even if there was a mid engine the cost of a car like that and the number of people able to purchase it would be very small. GM has to many other models to keep the wheel moving to survive.
03-17-2015, 08:19 PM
#29
Instructor
Don't buy into this 'perfect' 50/50 garbage often spewed out by BMW's marketing dept. it is far from optimal in actual driving and especially in racing.
03-17-2015, 11:02 PM
#30
Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter flat-out denied reports of an upcoming mid-engine Corvette during a recent interview on Autoline After Hours.
Read the rest on the Corvette Forum homepage. >>
Last edited by ArcticC7; 03-17-2015 at 11:07 PM.
03-20-2015, 09:14 AM
#31
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The CREV/CERV Program Exists. I know suppliers working on it (friends of mine work at them).
Of course he's not going to admit they are working on it.
He also won't admit they are working on Y2XX which is either the C8 or a C7 MCE, but it will be a 2018. So I lean toward an MCE.
Of course he's not going to admit they are working on it.
He also won't admit they are working on Y2XX which is either the C8 or a C7 MCE, but it will be a 2018. So I lean toward an MCE.
Last edited by LT1 Z51; 03-20-2015 at 09:17 AM.
02-23-2017, 01:46 PM
#33
Actually I believe he said no dual clutch as for when they tested current models, "they weren't capable of handling the power output," or something along those lines. So technically, he was correct because there is no dual clutch in the C7.
02-23-2017, 04:17 PM
#34
Drifting
They should ask him now! Besides, why would anyone sabotage sales of a current model that was selling well... see what all these C8 mid engine rumours are doing to sales in 2016/17 !
02-23-2017, 05:10 PM
#35
Race Director
This thread (almost 2 years old) kind of tickles me. Folks just LOVE to call Tadge a liar, sadly, these same folks aren't very good in actually listening to WHAT he says. He answers the DCT question with 2 points: Couldn't find an DCT that would handle the HP/Torque of the LT4 AND fit the C7 chassis. Sadly, folks NEVER get BOTH parts of that answer. And who, in their right mind, would think that Tadge would go on this show 6 MONTHS after the C7 Z06 intro and say: "Yeah, the Z06 is cool, but let me tell you about the ZR1 and the mid-engine car..."
The interviewers gave him an easy deniability by NAMING the mid-engine car (Zora, etc) so he could say "I know of no such car" (named Zora) and get away with it. Now, as Corvette fans, we want him to just SPILL IT but that's not how it works.
It was the same with the 6 speed auto in the 2014 C7. You watch interviews with Tadge in 2013 and NOT ONCE does he deny that a auto with MORE ratios would happen. In fact, when asked directly, he seemed clearly put out that the 8 speed wasn't ready for the C7 intro and said something to the effect: "You have to ask Toledo Transmission, I don't know what's going on over there".
Of course, now we know that the 8 speed wasn't fully baked even in 2015!
The interviewers gave him an easy deniability by NAMING the mid-engine car (Zora, etc) so he could say "I know of no such car" (named Zora) and get away with it. Now, as Corvette fans, we want him to just SPILL IT but that's not how it works.
It was the same with the 6 speed auto in the 2014 C7. You watch interviews with Tadge in 2013 and NOT ONCE does he deny that a auto with MORE ratios would happen. In fact, when asked directly, he seemed clearly put out that the 8 speed wasn't ready for the C7 intro and said something to the effect: "You have to ask Toledo Transmission, I don't know what's going on over there".
Of course, now we know that the 8 speed wasn't fully baked even in 2015!
Last edited by jimmyb; 02-23-2017 at 05:46 PM.
02-23-2017, 06:06 PM
#36
Drifting
Google "car credit bubble" and see how many hits you get.
02-23-2017, 06:21 PM
#37
Race Director
95 MILLION people are out of work? In America?
02-23-2017, 09:08 PM
#38
Burning Brakes
Market does not equal economy. Stocks are up because the Fed prints easy money. It sure as hell isn't fundamentals - even Apple is barely growing. Unemployment is only low if you don't count the 95,000,000 able bodied people who gave up looking for work (all-time high labor non-participation). And Obama was the first president ever to not have a single year of 3% growth.
Google "car credit bubble" and see how many hits you get.
Google "car credit bubble" and see how many hits you get.
02-23-2017, 09:14 PM
#39
Le Mans Master
Also there is a reason in a court of law that you have to "tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth". Those are three different things. Tadge may be getting by on one of them, but is he on the other two?
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02-23-2017, 09:49 PM
#40
Pro
They likely cannot confirm or deny anything. And I agree, I think they are shifting their sights to the Ford GT now that the Viper is going away.
I know we have been talking about mid-engine ("ME") corvettes for decades. I know everyone will argue that it already has a 50/50 balance. And yes, those arguments are true. Why go ME?
Probably because they are adding weight by going AWD, DCT and it all changes the weight distribution if you kept the engine up front. If they are going north of 650HP, they are eventually going to have to go AWD to get the power to the ground and get the acceleration times necessary to compete with the GTRs, 911s, etc. They will also need to consider DCT for paddle shifting satisfaction as the manual is likely going to disappear eventually. They may come up with another standard transmission, but who knows. If they do adopt both, then the weight distribution is likely offset and they would at least look at a ME to reconfigure the weight balance.