Corvette has existed for more than sixty years, seven generations, and hopefully will continue to exist far into the future. From a styling standpoint, much has been said about what makes a corvette look like a corvette, indeed the C7 corvette received some…criticism for having trapezoidal taillights instead of round taillights. However, what has been citied less frequently, if at all, is a description of corvette as it relates to driving feel and driving character. For instance, is a corvette a “Corvette” if instead of large displacement high torque V8 it instead came with a small displacement high revving engine of whatever configuration? Are such concerns a consideration when developing a new model or generation? And how would you characterize the corvette driving experience, especially how it relates to your competitors?

 

Had to get the zing in there about the tail lights, didn't you?

The question was cut down but submitted for voting. Verbosity isn't a requirement for these questions.

 

Personally I like the taillights, but they do illustrate how even a very minor change to corvette heritage can cause vastly different opinions.

 

IMO, a Corvette is, and should always be, a light weight bodied car with a powerful V8 engine that rivals some of the best sports cars in the world. These are the only things that have carried through all generations of Corvette. Headlamps, tail lights, shapes, frames, suspensions, form of fuel delivery, technology and materials have all changed through out.

 

Yes, but should it be front engine or mid engine? Should it be large enough to be a useful GT car or should it be smaller and more focused on just the driving experience? Should it be quiet and refined or should it be more raw and aggressive?

When the mustang went to a independent rear instead of a live axle with the current generation, several in media said it still felt like a mustang and that was a good thing. The spirit of this question is asking about future product without asking about future product. If corvette goes mid engine, Turbo V6, or whatever, I'm curious if making the car feel like corvette's past is a concern.

I don't think the corvette need to "rival," per se, the best sports cars in the world. I think it is one.

 

I think that it just needs to do everything well and have tremendous value. Mid-engine, front engine, carburetor, fuel injection, supercharger, turbocharger, overhead cam... doesn't matter. People want to buy a Corvette because it will perform as well as sports cars that are double the price. If technology says the Corvette needs to be mid-engine to compete, then mid-engine it is.

 

I have always looked at corvettes as Grand Tour cars. The best bang for the buck. With Performance that will match if not best out European GT cars such as the Aston Martin DB series, Ferrari FF & Mercedes SLS. Styling has always been progress first. The corvette has never held back in terms of styling if the times called for it they changed and adapted for progress. The C5 to C6 we saw the return of non flip up headlamps. C6 C7 the Tron Taillights. it is all for the sake of progress. And honestly all corvettes look like sharks or fish of some kind.

While I would not be very pleased to see a removal of the front engine corvette, I would like to see a mid engine as an option perhaps under a different name or branch of corvette. Perhaps Chevy should just start a Corvette brand. Corvette umbrella will have the Convertible, Coupe, Z06, Zora and maybe a corvette sedan (the SS but better looking) :P

 

Interesting question, and I suppose your time in/with the car will influence your answer. My wife and I have owned our first Corvette for almost a year. Our love/interest in started with attending ALMS races many years back and watching/meeting Ron Fellows, and others in the series, and the support series show what could be done with the American sports car - on a roughly even playing field. We always loved that you heard the beasts before you would see them.

For us, it is about the experience, though. I keep the car looking good and we enjoy driving/riding in it. We love being thrown back in our seats nearing WOT. We enjoy the smiles on the faces of other that get to enjoy the sights and sounds of our car. I do think there should always be some styling cues that make it undeniable a Corvette, but most of the recipe can be fiddled with, as tech/performance advantages develop. Because I think a big V8 and deep noise is a key part of the experience, but the ability to have a reasonable conversation while enjoying all that is valuable, I tend to think a mid-engine car may be a little too much departure, as the mid-engine cars I've driven, while really fun, were near impossible to really enjoy with another person, if talking was a part of the equation. So, for me, the Corvette is about rock solid, feel it in your seat performance, but it is equally about a great touring car. A platform to dial to ones preferences, but with a starting place equal parts of both.

And, I won't lie, the price point I think is a key element in all this. This is an amazing package of performance and touring car, at a price that is attainable for many - more so than most of the exotics from the UK and Europe. And, sometimes that means that the fit and finish isn't always going to compare favorably to a car with the twice the price tag, or more. That's just business. That said, it's pretty cool to own a car that was built here, in America. We've been to the plant in Bowling Green, as well as the NCM.

My wife is a teacher of 3rd and 4th graders. One of her male students was all into cars, as many "12 year-olds, without a drivers license" can be. He knew the names and stats of all kinds of fancy cars. She talked to the boy's mom and we arranged for me to take him for a ride. I showed up at the school and was able to park out front. When school let out, we had a bit of a crowd of onlookers and the boy was getting shy. His older sister was very insistent that she could take his place. Because the location is a town on the edge of open spaces, we could wind around through town a bit, then get on the freeway, where the posted speed is 80 mph. We got to the onramp and had a clear shot to the freeway - and we got after it enough to feel lightness in the back end. His smiles were all I needed to know that he now had at least one reason to add the American sports car to his list. This one he had experienced, while most of the rest, he would have to read about online, or in magazines. It was a fun day to help one young boy experience what Corvette is all about.

 

"Zing" returned.