Do Corvettes ever get "facelifts"?
Go Canes!
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Boca Raton FL
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21
Almost every generation has had a facelift. Look at the C3 through the years and the C4 in 1990 went from round lights to square lights in the back. As said before, the GS could be considered a facelift of sorts. Now with the ZR1 coming, the front end will have a few changes as well.
Last edited by davidtcpa; Nov 29, 2016 at 06:42 AM.
Le Mans Master
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True. But its surprising that the Corvette's little bro, the Camaro would get major facelifts. Aren't there rumours about the new C6 Camaro already getting a facelift (I'm not talking ZL1)? Especially since it wasn't selling as well as they hoped? Something about the non-car enthusiast not being able to tell the difference between the C5 and C6 Camaro...
Classic example, go look at a 2012 Focus and compare it to a 2015 Focus. Same car, new face.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2009
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From: Brookfield IL
Why fix what isn't broken????
The C7 is the best looking Vette in years, even in its base model looks.
What would you want them to change? Cause there's not much on the car that needs any tweaking.
Heck in my opinion, the only, only thing they should change is getting rid of the spats on the Z06 and GS and give them full fender flare extensions, other than that small gripe of mine, I think the C7 is a great looking car.
The C7 is the best looking Vette in years, even in its base model looks.
What would you want them to change? Cause there's not much on the car that needs any tweaking.
Heck in my opinion, the only, only thing they should change is getting rid of the spats on the Z06 and GS and give them full fender flare extensions, other than that small gripe of mine, I think the C7 is a great looking car.
Le Mans Master
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From: New Jersey
Le Mans Master
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Almost no chassis and powertrain components where carried over from C5 to C6. The hard points might have stayed the same but design wise this happens a lot as usually next versions of the same platform maintain hard points. The electrical architecture was mildly upgraded as well.
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Go Canes!
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Boca Raton FL
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21
Almost no chassis and powertrain components where carried over from C5 to C6. The hard points might have stayed the same but design wise this happens a lot as usually next versions of the same platform maintain hard points. The electrical architecture was mildly upgraded as well.
He was totally wrong.
Race Director
Joined: May 2001
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From: Guelph, Ontario
Seriously though, Porsche body designers must have the easiest job out there, the 911 really hasn't changed that drastically at all in decades.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2002
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From: Rochester New York
Pre C5 generations had many changes in appearance. Especially the C1 with 4 major changes....'53-'55, '56-'57, 58-60, '61-'62. The C2 changes were more subtle, but if an enthusiast...you could distinguish a '63 from a '64 etc.. I know that in the '50's, '60's and early '70's, fresh styling was important for the new model year. Not so much today!
Last edited by Supersonic 427; Nov 29, 2016 at 12:50 PM.
Le Mans Master
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In the luxury goods market (where Porsche plays), even the tiniest changes are a big deal.
To you and me, a 911 looks relatively the same, to the Porsche owner they can tell you a 996 from a 997 from a 991 and a 991.2 the car magazines know as well.
Pro
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 595
Likes: 141
From: Virginia
Why fix what isn't broken????
The C7 is the best looking Vette in years, even in its base model looks.
What would you want them to change? Cause there's not much on the car that needs any tweaking.
Heck in my opinion, the only, only thing they should change is getting rid of the spats on the Z06 and GS and give them full fender flare extensions, other than that small gripe of mine, I think the C7 is a great looking car.
The C7 is the best looking Vette in years, even in its base model looks.
What would you want them to change? Cause there's not much on the car that needs any tweaking.
Heck in my opinion, the only, only thing they should change is getting rid of the spats on the Z06 and GS and give them full fender flare extensions, other than that small gripe of mine, I think the C7 is a great looking car.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: N Cal
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2011
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From: Holly Springs NC
St. Jude Donor '16-'17,'22,'24
IMHO, a facelift is needed for GM to prop up sales. Let's face it, the C7 is hitting some hard times and it will be difficult to maintain the 40K units per year unless there is something to motivate owners of older C7s to trade up. Right now the horsepower is the same and the Stingray body is identical to a 2014. These facts mean that the new Corvette's biggest competitor is a used C7 because you can't tell the difference unless you know colors by year and search for cameras.
Some change to signal this is a NEW Corvette along with a slight bump in HP would cause a number of would be buyers to opt for a new Vette instead of a used C7. In addition, those of us looking at our '14 & '15 Vettes might want to upgrade to the newer look if a facelift was performed. Comparisons to the C5 & C6 don't work because the economy was much different for those years. For the C5 it was a much better economy, for the C6, much worse (with lower sales).
Personally, I hope they don't perform a facelift, but I would not be at all surprised if they did. Remember, the C7 will not be discontinued when the mid-engine car is introduced. It is slated to continue on until 2020 or 2021.
Some change to signal this is a NEW Corvette along with a slight bump in HP would cause a number of would be buyers to opt for a new Vette instead of a used C7. In addition, those of us looking at our '14 & '15 Vettes might want to upgrade to the newer look if a facelift was performed. Comparisons to the C5 & C6 don't work because the economy was much different for those years. For the C5 it was a much better economy, for the C6, much worse (with lower sales).
Personally, I hope they don't perform a facelift, but I would not be at all surprised if they did. Remember, the C7 will not be discontinued when the mid-engine car is introduced. It is slated to continue on until 2020 or 2021.