Joe_Planet

i just wanna know what this car will cost. i had a 2008 z06 and that car set me back 63k.
then after i totalled it i didnt wanna buy another, so i picked up a 2003 z06 for 25k.. a LOT easier to swallow lol. looking at vette prices, they increase every year, for example my 2003 z06 stickered at 52k.. 2008 z06 stickered at 76k, and 2012 went up to over 80 (with the same crap interior and nav i might add). I really hope gm can build a cheaper, better car; otherwise i'll have to wait a while until i am willing to buy one used..

chaase

Seriously people, a 3.0L turbo V8 is not an engine anyone would build. I would believe a higher displacement 6cyl FI or a 4.0-5.0L high revving V8 before a 3.0L Turbo V8.

There is one thing people forget Ferrari, Porsche and BMW build those motors because they don't give a rats behind about CAFE. At one point in time, I think Porsche or BMW paid the biggest CAFE fines in the U.S. because they don't care. They just pass the cost onto the cutomer. G.M. actually cares about the CAFE. The also care about the gas guzzler tax, so they will stick with the basic set up.

There are going to be a lot of embarrassed people when the C7 comes with a good sized V8. A 5.5L DI engine is the most logical thing. It adds more technology, gives better power and better fuel economy. It keeps the existing market happy and can be done at a price point where they are a better value.

If the plant upgrades would allow for RHD version of the car, that makes sense. The Corvette takes some heat in the U.K. because of the LHD only configuration. Moving to a slightly more compact vehicle would also appeal to the foreign markets because road space is tighter there. Those are the two changes that make sense for the global market.

Racer X

There is something working against smaller track and wheel base.... the CAFE standards. The mileage standards is different based on the area of the track and wheelbase. So trucks with a long wheel base and wide track have a lower mileage standard. So they look across the total mix of the manufacturer and look at the area and then that determines the average fleet economy that has to be achieved.

So if anything the Vette will get a slightly longer wheelbase and wider track with less overhang.

It is hard to say which way they will go, except lighter and lower drag. Lighter will allow a narrower tire, which will also allow lower rolling resistance and aero drag. Much lighter weight will allow smaller brakes, lighter frame, lighter suspension parts, etc it is a spiral, less weight means less weight of other components. We may even see shrinking wheels. Smaller wheels mean less weight, less unsprung weight, lower driveline drag, better mileage.

I wonder when they will try ceramic and poly motors again?

JustinStrife

I would like to see a sub 3,000 lb C7 that's inbetween a 3rd gen RX7, and a C6 in size, smaller version of the ZR1 brakes, 18x9.5 and 18x11 wheels, and keep a 500hp engine for the Z06. Oh and keep the wide body look like the Z06/GS/ZR1 have for the more race orientated versions.

30YR W8T

Read post 30 and 33, you may have been a sleep reading them.

Racer X

Yes, I read them. Your knowledge of automotive design and engineering is unique. Your knowledge of the automotive business is interesting.

The idea of a global car means that there will not be a different model in a different country. The model will be the same, the option mix may be different to meet local requirements. If the local requirements takes a car too far from the model identity it will not be sold there. So if in Italy you cannot practically sell a 5 liter vehicle that is more than 16 feet long, guess what they will not sell a Suburban in Italy.

The Corvette will remain a niche car even if exports are increased 5 fold. It is not a Cruze, or a Malibu. It is not meant to be. GM had a small 4 cylinder sports car in Europe. It was actually pretty good, and it still failed. That was an Opel/Vauxhall based off the Elise. They also had a version of the Solstice/Sky.

Please show us the European sports cars that perform with the Corvette that get significantly better mileage than the Corvette.

You still don't get it? The Corvette is not a competitor to those tiny engined cars in Europe. They a performance competitor to the 911 and above Porsche's, Ferrari's Lamborhini's etc. Call us when they start cutting their engine size in half. The Corvette is far more likely to go to a mild hybrid to increase mileage than it is to go to a 3 liter V8 or six, if they need better mileage in the near term.

BRCC

I think the rumor of a small (2.4 Ltr V6) high reving engine is coming from GMs announcement they will provide competition for the Honda engine in the IndyCars, I don't think it will make it's way into the Corvette at least in the near future.

"The new, purpose-built Chevy twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V-6 racing engine will be developed jointly by GM and Ilmor Engineering of Michigan. It will have an aluminum block and cylinder heads, and will be a fully stressed chassis member supporting the gearbox and rear suspension. INDYCAR’s technical details and specifications will be released at a later date."

30YR W8T

Well I guess we are going to agree to disagree. Evidently we have a language barrier and I am wasting my time. So the best position at this point is just to wait until the new car comes out and see what happens versus continuing this exercise in futility.

HarryWild

If GM wins; and get the nod from Indy; this could be the future engine for all GM sport cars. I would very impress if they beat out Honda at engine development however! Honda has beaten out Maclean in F1 racing. GM would get a lot of press if they can do it and a lot of fanfare from Indy fans which will translate into car sales!

JustinStrife

Oh look, the troll is back.

SCM_Crash

I'm sure they're going to keep the HID headlights, and not go with LED headlights. The rest sounds reasonably correct. What about the turbo V8?

C7Joy

That sounds like a reasonable compilation of the different pieces I have read in different sources. If the 5.5 is in stalled in a chassis that is considerable lighter due to more use of carbon fiber and aluminum it could be quite a performer at 440 or more HP. We'll see i guess.

I Bin Therbefor

Honda did not build a street engine that has the same architecture as their Indy engine or for that matter as their ALMS engine.

zimmab01

I don't follow very much INDY car, but I do not think that even if GM does get the bid for the engines, they will not be released in the C7. With the effeciency of combustion engines getting better every day, I could see GM going with the smaller CID with direct injection (with the base model) to improve MPG and possibly sales. I would be heartbroken to see the Z06 transform into an LSA clone ... I don't think they are going to do that simply because it would probably kill the sales of the ZR-1...

KevinK

Let's put this displacement conversation to bed...NOW.

A 5.7 liter V8 with direct port injection, valve or cam timing, etc, making, say....500hp at 4,000rpms....

VS

A turbo charged 3.0 liter V6 with direct port injection, valve or cam timing, etc, making, say...500hp at 6,000rpms...

You know what BOTH of these guys have in common? They use the same AMOUNT OF GAS! Horse power is created by the combustion of fuel and air. How much power is relegated by how much fuel and air can be combusted, within a specific time frame. Small displacement, high revving, high power motors consume just as much, and many times, MORE, fuel, than higher displacement, lower revving, high power motors. So long as both motors are of equal efficiancy in terms of fuel consumption (direct port injection, stuff like that, less gas wasted on the way to the combustion chamber), then they require the exact same amount of fuel to generate the same amount of power. It's physics. You CAN NOT create something from nothing. Power requires a catalyst. HP can't be generated with the consumption of fuel. How much hp dictates how much fuel.

KevinK

Oh, and about the ever increasing cost of the car...


The cost, or value, of the car does not go up, the value of the dollar goes down. You take the percentage by which the cost of a new corvette went up vs the last gen, and compare it to, say, groceries, or something, and those groceries will have gone up in cost by the same amount.

Meaning that it's not evil farmers getting richer, or evil car manufacturers getting richer, it's the value of the dollar sliding further and further every year. Ideally, we should have received enough pay increases over that span of time to compensate...but I know I haven't, lol. Most companies have used the recession as an excuse to NOT give pay increases, regardless of how well said companies did for those years.

ZL-1

I should have worded it that L.E.D. lighting will replace all incandescent lighting.

zimmab01

Kind of comparing apples to oranges but in some, if not most, cases this is very true. I don't know if you can really say that horsepower dictates MPG though... Engines typically make the most "safe" power with correct AFR (13:1 NA 11.5ish:1 Boosted). Less fuel, to a point, makes more power but also makes more knock . Look at the carbeurated cars from back in the day: their MPG was horrible and their horsepower, compared to todays numbers, was sometimes pitiful considering CID. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here but if they abandon the LS3/LS9/LSA or LS7 base CID, I think they would go smaller. Just my two cents.

Z06Norway

IF that was true, why is todays 350 so much more powerful than old 350, and at the same time gets a hell of lot better MPG ?
Why does BMW increase power 16% on a certain engine while reducing C02 emmisions and gets you better MPG ?

Propably due to more efficient engine designs ?

While i love Torque and big cube V8, i admit that technology can give us stuff today that was unthinkable only a few years ago.
Turbocharger beeing one of them.
I owned a C5 1997 model for 7 years, the two last years with a 427 TT, 1200 TQ and 1150 HP is impressive.
9.5 in 1/4 mile is (was) also fast
But the most impressive to me was how civil and nice she drove, she idled at 650 rpm, you could cruise and get 20 mpg downtown and 28 mpg on highway. BUT if you unleashed her, mpg down the drain

So i think CAFE and C02 emissions are done on normal cruise drive and not WOT.
Corvette needs new technology to improve.

DSG trans improves mpg by a certain %, all else beeing equal

Adjustable cam timing also improve mpg and powerband

Direct fuel injection, improve mpg and more HP

Turbo and smaller engine can give us the TQ and HP, AND lower C02 emission AND improve mpg

So i hope we get a big surprice from GM, they need that

Rune

zimmab01

... Who did your 427 TT?

God wanted us to have cam phasers