cebars

By Bob Lutz
Jan 15, 2015

4.8k

I first saw rough plans for a mid-engine Corvette around 2003. That's when we were starting to think seriously about a replacement for the C6. GM's head of engineering, Jim Queen, came to see me and said,

"The next one's got to be mid-engine."

Tadge Juechter had a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating, very credibly, that the C6 ZR1 was at the limit of usable rear-wheel-drive performance. The problemwas really the front-mid-engine layout—we couldn't get the engine low enough and far back enough for proper weight transfer to the rear wheels under acceleration.
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I didn't want to move out of our price class, but Tadge explained that while the transmission would cost more, the list price would increase by no more than $5000. Imagine an American-built car with the proportions of a Lamborghini at that price point …that's pretty appealing.

Read entire article on Road and Track

Snake.Oiler

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...gine-corvette/

Steve_R

We need one stickied C8/Zora/mid-engine thread here instead of the dozens we have now.

themonk

5k over what? C7 prices vary by 60k....

Chip E.

I get the feeling it's gonna be $5K over the fully optioned Z06.

LIE2ME

I know these guys really plan ahead, but wasn't 2003 like two years BEFORE the C6 was introduced?

NoOne

When I was at Chrysler the Long Term Plan was 20 years out. Next gen ground work is usually being done before the current model is even for sale.

CriticalmassGT

Where's all the people who said we were full of **** when a group of us kept insisting a mid-engined vehicle was coming, and soon? They seem to have disappeared. hmmm. I won't debate the "year" it will be introduced because it could be 2020. They could wait for the C8 launch. But it is coming. The spyshots taken of it ls definitely a mid-engined vehicle.

As long as it's got a V8 in it, I'd be happy. While the Ford GT is a fantastic racing car (as proven by the IMSA wins), the V6 just doesn't sound the same. And to me, the sound of the engine matters.

Also, the Ford GT's interior blows. Definitely "Race Car Derived" totally barebones. But the body design is genius.

Purists might say the Corvette should stay Front Engined. Maybe so.

FiveStar

What will probably happen is when C8 comes out it will no longer be price matched to the base car but to the Grand Sport. This in fact may be the whole reason they came out with the G/S so they can do the usual if you can afford a G/S you can afford a new C8.

Foosh

Well, it's clearly been "under consideration," and "development work" on mid-engine concepts has been going on for decades. In the past, it's been shelved for various reasons.

The same thing is going on today. All that's official is that a concept will be revealed soon, and it seems clear that development work is again on the front-burner. However, I don't think the green light has been given on a either a design or a production decision, and concepts often don't make it to production. The concept could go back on the shelf or be delayed again as it has been in the past.

I hope it does go forward, but innovation and change can either be massive successes or failures, but what's going on now is a necessary process or progress and innovation stagnate. It does seem to me that GM has wrung about as much out of the current platform as is possible.

A certain amount of skepticism is rational for the above reasons, but I think it's getting closer to reality.

dvilin

Whatever, each day brings a slew of speculations.

Foosh

Yes, that's one of the entertaining aspects of car forums. I'm always fascinated by the conclusions various folks reach and positions taken.

Larry/car

I have no idea how the vast majority of the Corvette community feel, for me there is no mid engine car in my future.

Harry2

Probably the same group of experts that kept insisting that a Grand Sport would mot appear in the C7 cycle!

jschindler

Like many, I don't doubt that it's coming, I doubt that it is the next generation Corvette. I believe it's going to be in addition to the "Stingray". The are packaging issues related to a mid engine car that compromises it's ability to be a daily driver for many folks. I think it would seriously diminish its ability to appeal to 35,000 buyers a year. It makes more sense as a second, 5-10,000 unit a year option.

BTW, this could well be the reason Corvette brought out the "Stingray" moniker. They knew a second car under the Corvette banner was coming.

Indy-hp

If GM is going to build a mid-engine car, a second, completely different Corvette model makes sense, but is totally unprecedented.

I would love to see an affordable mid-engine Vette, but I fear one will be out of my price range. Corvettes are supposed to be affordable, but they now start at a whopping $56,400 MSRP.

Foosh

Interesting thoughts, and I hadn't considered that angle, but it could be a very good business model with successful precedents.

Folks have been speculating and suggesting for years that "Corvette" should separated from Chevrolet and positioned as a discreet "performance brand" and dealer network. To some extent, GM has been distancing the Corvette from Chevy for years. It's been many generations since we've seen "Chevrolet" or the "bow-tie" logos anywhere on Corvettes, except the tiny bow-tie on the crossed-flags badges.

It's similar to the Porsche model, but I would really rather not see Corvette SUVs. :-)

Steve_R

Separating Corvette into its own brand and dealer network would be a deal breaker for me, and I'm sure for many others. Chevy dealers are everywhere. I've looked at other high performance cars, but the closest dealer is several hundred miles away, which won't work. If Corvette had its own dealer I'm sure that would be the case, which would mean owning a Corvette anywhere not close to a big city wouldn't work very well.

SharkGrayStingray

ok, convince me that the spyshots are "definitely" a mid engine corvette? enlighten me

Foosh

It could work like the BMW/Mini relationship. Most BMW dealerships have separate Mini dealerships including service departments on the same property or right next door.