boxerperson

Well....the car has the power and weight to dip into the mid-low 11's, easily....but will it? Only in the hands of some of the best drivers methinks.

0-60 times will likely be about the same, or perhaps worse than, the c5 Z06, for most drivers, anywhere but the drag strip. Too much power for the slightly dusty unkempt roads of the "real world"

We'll have the bragging rights over the viper, no doubt...but only on a drag strip, with good drivers. On the street the difference is going to be moot.





So.....(and I know this has been talked about before) It's really time for the corvette to move to a mid-engine layout. The improved traction from a standing start, combined with the handling dynamics and the improved profile of the car.....would make it even better.

This is a personal view, but I do not like the way that the front of the corvette looks right now. The c5 and c6 both suffer from it. From an angle, the front just looks....way way way too big. You know what angle i'm talking about. It makes the nose of the car look disproportional to the rest. The flared fenders are partly responsible for this, but not entirely (look at the flares on the RX-8.....and that doesn't suffer from the same profile problem)

The mid-engine layout would solve this. The front of the car would be able to be shrunk somewhat, while still having flared fenders and giving it that corvette look. Win-win situation.

Plus, we'd have significantly better traction, without the weight penalty or fun-draining tail-in dynamics of all-wheel-drive.

I don't know how popular this would be with the regulars here, look at how people flipped out about exposed headlamps. But the mid-engine layout is superior for a sports car, period. It just works better. It would also be one less thing the ferrari guys can scoff at when they compare their beautifully overpriced works of art to ours.


There's a lot of really bright engineers here. So....what are the challenges and limitations of a mid-engine design. Would it make the car more expensive to own and work on? Or is there a way to get around that, with easier access to the internals and such?

Structual effects of this?





Discuss.

krwman007

The C6R seems to be managing pretty well with the front mid-ship layout...you really want to change to the European style bad huh?

boxerperson

It's not so much the european style (although this change would inevitably make the car more popular in europe).


The C6R of course is great. But it's a completely different environment than the street. It handles well because it does not have to make any compromises. The regular production vehicle does, and I think that the mid-engine layout would provide a way to get around some of these. (traction, large frontal area, etc)

I love the corvette, and I want to own one eventually (i've driven a couple different models for significant amounts of time, but never owned.....too busy with college). I just think that for a sports car.....with the changing competitive environment, this would be the logical next step.

grr

A man has to know his limitations and the limtations of the car he drives

bernrex

I'd vote to at least have GM experiment with a mid-engine frame.

Perhaps the next Z ... should have a mid-engine 600HP, with 32 valves ... with 'on demand' frontwheel drive (AWD) as an option.

Nothing would best that beast at strip or track.

Z06Kal

You forget that the Corvette is mid engine. The majority of the weight of the engine and transmision is positioned towards the middle of the car between the front and rear axles. Chevy goes the extra step by putting the transmision in the rear to give the car proper weight distrubution and and a low polar moment. If the engine and transmission are pushed behind the cabin you would have a rear heavy weight distribution. Look at the 360 modena it's 42/58. A car with a tail heavy bias will be less forgiving at the limit as it will carry a greater tail moment. There will be gains in corner exit and acceleration traction but at the expense of predictability. The gains compared to the properly counterbalanced mid front engine setup in the corvette are going to be minimal. This is evident in the DIE HARD 360 Stratdale Version running similar times to the stock C5 Z06 at Nurburgring. I used to own a mid engine car and I can tell you that the launching grip capability are comparable to the Corvette. If you want to see a big increase in real world street performance the car has to be all wheel drive. That takes away a big fun factor that vette owners look for. Either way an AWD vette or a rear mounted mid engine vette would take away from the whole corvette heritage. The car could no longer be identified as a corvette. Further it woudl be more expensive to build, more difficult to service, and lose storage space.

Vladcanada

Looks fine to me....

boxerperson

^^^^^^ That's not the angle.






surely there's a way to get the same cargo area out of it?

And the corvette has about a 50/50 split of weight. That's not optimal for the track. Having a rearward bias is optimal.


So...somebody with the knowledge...explain why mid-engine is more expensive? I don't see why It would need to be.

Scissors

It's not the "European" style so much as the "impractical" style.

05C6spdvert

I kind of agree with you that it will take some time to learn to launch properly, it has so much torque out of the hole it can suffer from to much wheel spin, the good news about every 6-8K miles you get to try out a new set of rear tires until you find just the right one for optimal launch grip.

fgordon

I believe the Corvette is referred to as a mid-ship design versus Mid-engine. (I may be wrong) My point is that I like the feel and comfort of the "mid-ship" versus having a 500hp hunk of aluminum and steel screaming in my ear. The only real advantage of the mid-engine as I see it is better traction at launch. Taking advantage of any of the other advantages of this design is probably beyond the capabilities of most of us.

05C6spdvert

WOW!! That is mean looking car, looks like the spokes were painted to match body color and dark tint. OFF DA HOOK!!!!

05C6spdvert

WOW!! That is a mean looking car, looks like the spokes were painted to match body color and dark tint. OFF DA HOOK!!!!

ZFORME

The true mid engine corvette will eventually become a reality IMO. The corvette must evolve and it will to sportscar perfection.

Lazerwolfe

There are Ferraris with engines in the front.

Viperbitesback

The costs of a midengine car would also be more

Scissors

And they race in the LeMans GTS class.

tolnep

give me awd before mid-engine. that would be the next major change I would like to see. mid-engine if it makes engineering sense. awd would be immediately useful.

yz250fPilot

Sure, a mid-engine layout has it's merits, just like a 4v DOHC engine has it's too.

But the question must be asked, is re-tooling for either really necessary? Is the (..small) performance gain worth the additional cost?

Some also lament that the Corvette does not have a 32v engine, but they are misinformed as there is absolutely no need for it at this point in time. The added complexity, weight, and higher center of gravity of a DOHC 4v design simply does not equate into a cost-effective performance gain.

For example, look at what BMW had to do to get 500hp: DOHC 4v with variable valve timing, 10 cylinders, and max hp at 7775 RPM. Definitely cool, whizz-bang stuff, but not when it breaks: that horrific complexity will cost dearly at repair time.

Comparitively, the LS7 and it's compact OHV 2v layout is KISS personified while producing it's 500hp at 6300 RPM, yet is able to spin to 7100 RPM.

The same applies to a mid-engine layout. How much better will a mid-engined Corvette perform relative to the current/tested Corvette king-of-the-hill handling-champ C5Z? How much better will that mid-engined Corvette handle relative to the the heir-to-be C6Z?

It would be safe to say 'better', but by what percentage 'better', and most importantly, at what cost?

Relative to the cost to re-engineer the entire car, the performance gained would be negligible at best. Hell, people are already complaining about how expensive the 'simpleton' C6Z might be. Just think what those same people would be saying about the price of a new-and-improved 'modern technology' Corvette.

In the end, 'good-enough' is just that, otherwise, for a relatively small increase in performance you'll be paying $100K+.

BTW, I can give a rats *** what Ferrari owners think regarding Corvette technology, or 'lack' thereof. I just wish the C6 looked (..much) better; it's a shame, really.

Gary2KC5

That's what I've always said...

"mid-engined" Ferrari's and Porsche's don't have the engine in the midlle of the car just in front of the rear axle. Just like C5/C6 Corvette's have the engine behind the front axle.

From an engineering stand point, with a "mid-ship" engine and a rear mounted (in front of the axle) transmission it is actually far better than a traditional "mid-engined" car.