C8 Corvette: How on Earth Can a Mid-engine Supercar Cost So Little?
Chevrolet shocked the world by revealing that the C8 would start at under $60,000. Sounds crazy but here’s how it may have worked.
As you may know, Zora Arkus-Duntov, the “Father of the Corvette,” had an incredible love for America’s favorite two-seater when he first laid eyes on it back in 1953. He spent many years and much of his racing and mechanical engineering expertise to make the car the super-competitive beast that it is today. And in his 23-year tenure at General Motors, one thing he always wanted for Chevy’s crown jewel was to take the small-block V8 and give the car a mid-engine layout. His wish was finally fulfilled after nearly 60 years.
Being lucky enough to attend such a monumental event, I was filled a lot of joy—and a lot of anxiety. I was so very anxious to see the fruit of Chevy’s hard labor. So when GM President Mark Reuss sleuthed his way onto the stage in that savagely aerodynamic, track-slaying beast swathed in fiery red paint during the livestream, the room was filled with unbridled excitement. Then it was filled with shock and awe when he said it would start at under $60K.
Mid-engine cars have never really been affordable for those who aren’t exactly well-to-do. Granted, the best lowest-priced mid-engine luxury sports vehicles you can buy at the moment are probably the Porsche 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman starting at $58K. Despite being the manufacturer’s only mid-engine offerings, they are entry-level and aren’t even in the same class as the Corvette. The AMG GT is perhaps the closest rival to the C8, and is priced at $116K.
Ergo, the question remains: How did Chevrolet fit a 495-horsepower engine with 470 lbs-ft of torque in the middle of the Corvette’s chassis and still make it so dang affordable?
C8 Corvette LT2 Engine
Firstly, let’s address the big elephant in the room. The naturally-aspirated LT2 V8 that the C8 uses is based on the C7’s LT1. Other than it using a more efficient intake/exhaust system, it uses the same crank, same bore, same compression ratio as the LT1. That being said, all 2020 Corvettes now have the dry-sump oil system (previously only available on the Z51 package in the C7) and a lower-capacity oil pan since the engine sits about an inch lower to the ground. As a result, the oil reservoir is now mounted onto the block instead of the bottom of the engine bay.
Apropos, you can essentially call it a mid-engine version of the LT1.
Camaro’s Future Up in the Air
Speaking of the LT1, the Camaro SS, SS 1LE and ZL1 all use a version of the Gen V LT1 that is binned for the C7 Stingray, Z06, and ZR1. Though GM will neither confirm nor deny it, the Camaro is allegedly going to be kicked to the curb again come 2023.
Consequently, there is a good chance that because of this, Chevy may not have to spend as much production budget on another high-performance vehicle, and can therefore subsidize the cost of the base Corvette. Just like how the Camaro ZL1 is so disruptive to the supercar realm with its extremely-high performance for its incredibly low price, this move would make the brand more attractive to those wanting a supercar without paying an exorbitant premium.
This one is pure speculation but it certainly lends some credence as to why they are so mum on the subject.
DCT-only Transmission for the C8
As we suspected for a while now, the C8 Corvette will come with an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission only. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise for two reasons: advent technology and production savings.
Firstly, we are now in the age where there is no way possible any human can ever manually shift a gear faster than the electronic clutches that come in today’s crazily-powered shiftable automatics. Don’t get us wrong, there is absolutely no replacement for the magic and warmth of rowing your own gears, and Corvettes have always been sweethearts to do that in. However, as track-focused as this car is (even at the baseline), there is simply no way a “fun pedal” is going to keep it a cut above the rest on the pavement.
Which leads me to my next point, cost savings. By focusing on only one transmission, GM has less to spend production-wise, therefore allowing it to subsidize the car’s overall cost. Lower-cost vehicle, more potential buyers. A penny saved is a penny earned in this scenario.
“The main body structure is aluminum, and makes the most use of high-pressure die casting in General Motors history,” said Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juecther “these structures are used throughout the car to put the material exactly where it needs to be for maximum stiffness and little mass.”
Sounds like this means GM used factory precision in places where die casting was needed the most, and didn’t go any further than that.
Bear in mind that even though we are talking about the base Stingray C8 here, they did not specify how much extra the Z51 package will cost. Nor did they mention anything regarding the Z06 or ZR1. So if this is the price for general admission, we can’t imagine the more robust trims will be that much more.
Photos for Corvette Forum by Derin Richardson
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