Corvette will live on but lighter and greener
01-22-2008, 12:47 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Member Since: Oct 2006
Location: American in Germany 1 Hour to the ring fast
Posts: 476
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Corvette will live on but lighter and greener
01-22-2008, 12:49 PM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: Jun 2005
Location: Northern, VA
Posts: 46,106
Received 2,481 Likes
on
1,944 Posts
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
So, this could be "the good ole' days", and the last of the big horsepower Corvettes.....hmmm. Everytime someone makes a prediction like that, it seems to go awry. But maybe not this time.
But we all remember when no more convertibles was the case, and....
But we all remember when no more convertibles was the case, and....
01-22-2008, 12:51 PM
#3
Race Director
Member Since: Mar 2007
Location: Missouri City Texas
Posts: 11,331
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes
on
14 Posts
Two engines are offered for the 2008 model year, a 430-hp 6.2-liter V8 and a 505-hp 7.0-liter V8. The 2009 ZR1 features a 620-plus hp supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Wallace won't talk about specifics of the next-generation Corvette. But he said if the car's weight was dropped by 300 to 400 pounds and a 4.7-liter V-8 is offered with 150 fewer horsepower than the 2008 models, the "pounds per horsepower are the same."
I think someone needs to redo their math...150 less horsepower is 280hp....280hp in a 2800lb car is NOT the same lb/hp ratio as 430 in a ~3200lb car.
If the corvette comes out with 280hp you can gurantee GM that this is the last corvette I will own.
Wallace won't talk about specifics of the next-generation Corvette. But he said if the car's weight was dropped by 300 to 400 pounds and a 4.7-liter V-8 is offered with 150 fewer horsepower than the 2008 models, the "pounds per horsepower are the same."
I think someone needs to redo their math...150 less horsepower is 280hp....280hp in a 2800lb car is NOT the same lb/hp ratio as 430 in a ~3200lb car.
If the corvette comes out with 280hp you can gurantee GM that this is the last corvette I will own.
01-22-2008, 12:52 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Dec 2005
Location: North Western Connecticut
Posts: 7,594
Received 91 Likes
on
54 Posts
Looks like even GM is saying we're just about tapped out on the HP side of things. I'd like a 400 lb lighter vette but with today's engines.....
By RICK KRANZ, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
The Chevrolet Corvette will live on despite tougher fuel economy rules. But the redesigned car, expected in about 2012, could be lighter and smaller than today's Corvette.
And the V8 that powers the Corvette of the future may be smaller than the one used today.
"I don't think we're going to design a 700-hp Corvette," Tom Wallace, vehicle line executive for the Corvette, said at the Detroit auto show. "What's going to be more important is fuel economy, carbon footprint and green. We have already paid a lot of attention to those areas. Where we can pay more attention is pounds per horsepower."
Two engines are offered for the 2008 model year, a 430-hp 6.2-liter V8 and a 505-hp 7.0-liter V8. The 2009 ZR1 features a 620-plus hp supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Wallace won't talk about specifics of the next-generation Corvette. But he said if the car's weight was dropped by 300 to 400 pounds and a 4.7-liter V-8 is offered with 150 fewer horsepower than the 2008 models, the "pounds per horsepower are the same."
Wallace said he envisions a Corvette that is "more fuel efficient ... even nimbler than it was before. But he said no decision has been made about horsepower or engine size.
The 2009 ZR1 will have a top speed over 200 mph.
Rather than trying to top those performance numbers, Wallace said: "I think we need to say, 'We reached performance levels that are pretty good. Let's maintain those and improve fuel economy.' "
The Chevrolet Corvette will live on despite tougher fuel economy rules. But the redesigned car, expected in about 2012, could be lighter and smaller than today's Corvette.
And the V8 that powers the Corvette of the future may be smaller than the one used today.
"I don't think we're going to design a 700-hp Corvette," Tom Wallace, vehicle line executive for the Corvette, said at the Detroit auto show. "What's going to be more important is fuel economy, carbon footprint and green. We have already paid a lot of attention to those areas. Where we can pay more attention is pounds per horsepower."
Two engines are offered for the 2008 model year, a 430-hp 6.2-liter V8 and a 505-hp 7.0-liter V8. The 2009 ZR1 features a 620-plus hp supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Wallace won't talk about specifics of the next-generation Corvette. But he said if the car's weight was dropped by 300 to 400 pounds and a 4.7-liter V-8 is offered with 150 fewer horsepower than the 2008 models, the "pounds per horsepower are the same."
Wallace said he envisions a Corvette that is "more fuel efficient ... even nimbler than it was before. But he said no decision has been made about horsepower or engine size.
The 2009 ZR1 will have a top speed over 200 mph.
Rather than trying to top those performance numbers, Wallace said: "I think we need to say, 'We reached performance levels that are pretty good. Let's maintain those and improve fuel economy.' "
01-22-2008, 12:57 PM
#5
Instructor
Member Since: Mar 2004
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah, well...
The reason I have a Corvette coupe is because I want a car of its size (for comfort) and luggage capacity (had four guitars in the trunk last weekend, and two of them were full-size acoustics).
If I wanted a Solstice, I'd have bought a Solstice. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Pontiac roadster, but it doesnt fit my all-around needs or lifestyle.
Glad I got my new '08; if I'd waited, who knows?
The reason I have a Corvette coupe is because I want a car of its size (for comfort) and luggage capacity (had four guitars in the trunk last weekend, and two of them were full-size acoustics).
If I wanted a Solstice, I'd have bought a Solstice. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Pontiac roadster, but it doesnt fit my all-around needs or lifestyle.
Glad I got my new '08; if I'd waited, who knows?
01-22-2008, 01:02 PM
#6
Drifting
Yea really, If they make the car any smaller I won't buy one. If Corvette's going to end up being Miata sized with a small V8 count me out. I already have a friend that dropped an LS2 into a Solstice so it can be done but not my cup of tea. I think Corvette will become one of GMs first true fuel cell cars. Its the perfect candidate because of its low production numbers.
01-22-2008, 01:06 PM
#8
yep
the c7 i expect to be better and faster.....sure it WILL have to be different,but gm will do it. i would never question lutz and the corvette team ..as the famous show biz phrase said"
"you folks haven't seen anyhting yet!"
now it's up to me to live long enough to get a c7 and to save enough!
in the meantime i'll just have to try and "muddle"through with my c6.
.....what a way to suffer!
01-22-2008, 01:06 PM
#9
Melting Slicks
Jay Leno, at BJ sale of the ZR1 stated as much as this was likely the last hurrah of the real power cars. Once the new restrictions hit, we will looking at a very different kind of Corvette-perhaps more along the line of a larger Lotus Elise. In any case, the weight must drop as well as the hp to make the car fuel more efficient because from aero standpoint, the base C6 is about as aero as a car can practically get. The upside of all of this a smaller Corvette is okay, but what in the world will a mini Escalde look like
01-22-2008, 01:14 PM
#10
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Sep 2007
Location: Cedar Rapids Iowa
Posts: 920
Likes: 0
Received 25 Likes
on
14 Posts
If you do the math you find that to get the same HP/lb a Corvette with 286 HP would have to weigh about 2100 lbs. The horsepower is much cheaper to come by than a car of any size with that kind of weight. To loose 150hp the car would have to be much smaller than about anything currently available.
I too am glad my 2008 is on the way.
I too am glad my 2008 is on the way.
01-22-2008, 01:14 PM
#11
Drifting
You mark my words, within the next couple of years I will say by 2011 we will see an auto show "Corvette Concept" that is very highly styled but the size of a Solstice just to get "what if" public opinions.
01-22-2008, 01:18 PM
#12
I think they say stuff like this to scare people into buying C6s. The model run is half over with now and sales are starting to sag.
When it comes down to it GM could just about hit the gas mileage required, in 2020 mind you, with the current Vette and LS3 just by converting to direct injection. If they lighten the car a little by using more composites and carbon fiber, switch to a 7spd gear box, add direct injection, and lean out the fuel curve a little they should have a base C7 that can run down a C6z, and do it with 35+ MPG highway. I think the future for Corvette is very bright indeed.
When it comes down to it GM could just about hit the gas mileage required, in 2020 mind you, with the current Vette and LS3 just by converting to direct injection. If they lighten the car a little by using more composites and carbon fiber, switch to a 7spd gear box, add direct injection, and lean out the fuel curve a little they should have a base C7 that can run down a C6z, and do it with 35+ MPG highway. I think the future for Corvette is very bright indeed.
01-22-2008, 01:20 PM
#13
CF Senior Member
Member Since: Feb 2006
Location: Tucson Arizona
Posts: 23,313
Likes: 0
Received 19 Likes
on
18 Posts
Jay Leno, at BJ sale of the ZR1 stated as much as this was likely the last hurrah of the real power cars. Once the new restrictions hit, we will looking at a very different kind of Corvette-perhaps more along the line of a larger Lotus Elise. In any case, the weight must drop as well as the hp to make the car fuel more efficient because from aero standpoint, the base C6 is about as aero as a car can practically get. The upside of all of this a smaller Corvette is okay, but what in the world will a mini Escalde look like
01-22-2008, 01:21 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
I wish people here would care a fraction of what they obsess about mods and care a little more about the politics of denying and removing our automotive choices for political reasons.
Does anyone here actually think "greening" the Vette will make one bit of difference to this planet?
We are going to let them take it from us, without even a fight.
Shameful.
Does anyone here actually think "greening" the Vette will make one bit of difference to this planet?
We are going to let them take it from us, without even a fight.
Shameful.
01-22-2008, 01:35 PM
#16
Instructor
Member Since: Mar 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It sounds like I'm driving a 2012 Vette right now... A 2006 S2000.
I have usually owned small high revving sports cars and am looking to aquire a vette early next year. One of the reasons I am thinking of the vette is because of the unique driving experience it delivers. Tons of torque, hard charging exhaust. What a corvette has always represented in other words.
What is to differentiate a Corvette from other sports cars (Sky, Solstice, s2k, Evo, STi...) if they so drastically change its setup?
Maybe it's just a losing battle with everything "Green" And "Eco-Freindly" being rammed down our throats. *sigh*
01-22-2008, 01:45 PM
#18
I wish people here would care a fraction of what they obsess about mods and care a little more about the politics of denying and removing our automotive choices for political reasons.
Does anyone here actually think "greening" the Vette will make one bit of difference to this planet?
We are going to let them take it from us, without even a fight.
Shameful.
Does anyone here actually think "greening" the Vette will make one bit of difference to this planet?
We are going to let them take it from us, without even a fight.
Shameful.
01-22-2008, 01:45 PM
#19
Burning Brakes
I believe we all knew this was coming, but until it hits you between the eyes you don't want to believe it. We are in a 1970 situation once again, however, this time it should last until the end of the C6 model run extending the chance to own what will probably be considered the most desirable Corvette since the C2.
My concern is that with a smaller car the GT status will be lost as will many sales. If the C6 were not a comfortable touring car with the ability to carry enough luggage for a week long trip, I would not own one. I believe the ability to take a Corvette on extended drives contributes significantly to it's success. A smaller car would not have that ability, which I am sure would translate to less sales, less production and the eventual closing of the Bowling Green plant.
My concern is that with a smaller car the GT status will be lost as will many sales. If the C6 were not a comfortable touring car with the ability to carry enough luggage for a week long trip, I would not own one. I believe the ability to take a Corvette on extended drives contributes significantly to it's success. A smaller car would not have that ability, which I am sure would translate to less sales, less production and the eventual closing of the Bowling Green plant.
01-22-2008, 01:48 PM
#20
Team Owner
Wallace won't talk about specifics of the next-generation Corvette. But he said if the car's weight was dropped by 300 to 400 pounds and a 4.7-liter V-8 is offered with 150 fewer horsepower than the 2008 models, the "pounds per horsepower are the same."
That sounds like good news.
That sounds like good news.