silvertc6

Indeed. And if this is the case a face lift of sorts would be most likely in order to encourage the required level of sales of the C7.

Foosh

Bingo, I don't expect to see the C7 once the ME begins shipping. I was just allowing for the possibility that they might continue building it for a short period because they can.

I'd bet a reasonable sum the ME base model introduced first will be priced only slightly higher than the current base.

Phanni

One thing is certain, when it comes to Corvettes, speculation is always in the air.
Back in the mid 70's the first hints of a mid engine Vette was running rampant.
Now 40 years later, it may happen.

rmorin1249

Here's my prediction. GM will build the C8 Corvette ME and a higher cost Cadillac ME at BG. The C8 will appeal to Corvette owners as it will emphasize performance, be less than $10K more than the C7 and be "track capable". The Cadillac will be a GT with all the bells and whistles and a price tag to match.

Maxie2U

rob62

Someone may have touched on this but it maybe that the mid engine will not be the C8, just a new variation with a different name(Zorra). The 7 maybe, just maybe will live to see another year or 2 or 3 or...........

patentcad

I think the odds of that happening are one in one hundred bazillion, and I'm being generous, they are probably higher.

patentcad

But I'm wrong about everything else, so don't bet the ranch on that.

Gearhead Jim

Regarding price on the new ME/C8 or whatever it will be called-
I recall that back when the C7 was known to be coming out soon but GM had not given any serious hints on pricing; lots of people were predicting that a base C7 would list for something like $70k. That turned out to be incorrect, and so I'm predicting that the base version of the new car will be priced about $5k more than a base C7. As usual, higher performance models will be higher.

The thing that could make the new car much more expensive would be if GM decides to continue the C7 or variation as the entry level, and charge big bucks for the much different car.

We should know within a year or so...

Vetteman Jack

If they C7 stays in production at the same time as the C8, there will surely be some updates made, even if they are small. I can't recall any time that at least something has been improved upon between model years.

patentcad

Quite the reverse actually. GM has never done that, it is preposterously complex and expensive to make two distinct cars for a tiny niche market simultaneously. My bet is the C8 displaces the C7 in mid to late 2019 as a 2020 model and has a starting stripped price of no more than $60K for the base car, with pricier higher hp variants to follow over the ensuing year.

The operative term above, and try to grasp this about this car: TINY NICHE MARKET.

patentcad

Sometimes it does seem as if half the people here have no grasp of business fundamentals whatsoever. You do have to wonder.

Why would GM price the C8 in some higher price bracket than what has worked for them selling Corvettes since c. 1955? I suppose anything is possible, but how THAT makes sense to anyone who can follow the car's history and do arithmetic is baffling to me.

ByRiver

I don't understand why people keep thinking an ME car has to cost more than a FE car. I bought the 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder ME car the year it was released for $25K. It competed against the Miata and the Honda S2000, which were FE vehicles. The S2000 was $7k more, and the MR2 was priced very close to the Miata, which sold for $23,500. In fact a fully optioned Miata cost more than the MR2. By your logic, the MR2 should had sold for far more money because it had a Mid-engine. Even the Pontiac Fiero was priced the same as it's competitors. The engine has to fit in the vehicle someplace, so why would it cost more money to place it in any location in the vehicle? Time will tell, but I say the C8 will start out at the same price as the previous C7, less any slight increase for the the new model year.

Foosh

If (which is a very big if) GM intended to keep all C7 models in production after introducing the C8, I can understand your rationale. The problem with that rationale is that it would be a huge deviation from sound market principles to do that. GM isn't playing the Ford GT game.

Introducing a new car is all about generating a massive sales increase as a result of excitement about a new model and providing that car in multiple price ranges so that it can be afforded by most who want one. Case in point is that the largest number of C7 sales was in the intro 2014 MY. It would be a huge risk to deviate from that successful strategy, and the Corvette business model is all about moving 40K+ units/year.

A 2-seat sports car in the $150K price range just isn't going to sell more than 2-4K units/yr. More than halfway through the 2019 MY, ZR1 VIN 1000 was just recently produced. That's on track for about 2K 2019 ZR1s to be produced. That just doesn't cut it for a successful Corvette business model.

I simply do not expect to see a 2020 C7, but they may extend 2019 production.

roadbike56

Because all or almost all of the high performance mid-engine sports cars are high priced. Therefore it follows that GM will have to have a high price on the ME Corvette.
Is that last statement that I made true? That's the debate. GM has a nasty habit of producing giant killers that have a moderate price tag. That's why many of us who aren't wealthy love the Corvette.
I want to stress that no one who is posting knows the answer of what price the ME Corvette will carry. There were two leaked documents that implied very strongly that the C7 will continue through MY 2021. If that's true then maybe GM plans to have two platforms to compete with it's # 1 competitor, Porsche. Also Porsche has two platforms, so maybe GM is going to go head to head with Porsche with a lower priced model (Stingray) and a higher priced model, (ME car). There's lot of logic in that statement, but logic doesn't mean that's what GM is going to do. Additionally, those documents are now around two years old and business plans change.
I think there is only one statement we can all agree on. No matter what happens with the ME or the FE, these are very exciting times for Corvette. Other than that, there's a lot of speculation, theories, and logic, but those who know, aren't talking.

Foosh

The flaw in your logic is that all ultra high performance (omit mid-engine) sports cars are high-priced with one exception. Corvette has long been the antidote to out of reach prices, and I'm confident they will stick to that strategy. There is nothing inherently that much more expensive about building a rear mid-engine design. Corvette has been building affordable, front, mid-engine sports cars since the intro of the C5 w/ the trannie in the rear.

It's flawed logic to look at Ferrari, Lambo, Bugatti, etc. prices, and conclude a Corvette ME has to cost more. The fact of the matter is there aren't that many ME supercars, and they're all limited production, largely hand-built cars intended for the those who are rich and value exclusivity. Mass-produced cars cost far less, and GM has every intention of keeping the Corvette a mass-produced car than can be afforded by the middle-class income bracket.

The Ford GT is also a hand-built car, which Ford only built to qualify for international road-racing competition. It's hand-built in a boutique specialty shop in Canada. They had to build several hundred street versions to qualify under FIA/IMSA homologation rules. If Ford had decided to make the massive investment necessary to mass-produce that car, it could have been built for under $100K. GM made that investment years ago, and just invested a half-billion $ more to make it possible to build a reasonably-priced ME sports car.

Gearhead Jim

JoesC5

The flaw in your logic comes straight from Zora back in 1962 when he wrote a SAE paper on the new 1963 Corvette. When GM was looking at what the completely new 1963 Corvettes should be(and this was in late 1950"s). they looked at a conventual front engine(with the transmission bolted to the engine) RWD car, a front engine with the transmission bolted to the differential RWD car and thirdly, a mid engine car with the transmission bolted directly to the engine and to the differential.

The front engine car with the transmission bolted to the engine and RWD was selected because it was the cheapest to build of the three layouts they looked at.

Zora said that was why the 1963 Corvette was not a mid engine, even though it was all new compared to the outgoing 1962 Corvette.

JoesC5

I toured the plant when both the C6 and the XLR were being built. Two different areas of the plant.

More than enough room in the Super Sized plant of today to build two completely different cars.

Foosh

You're great with ancient history. I prefer to focus on more recent precedents and modern marketing trends as more reliable indicators.