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Tadge Juechter was John McElroy’s guest on Autoline After Hours for Thursday, March 12, where the Corvette Chief Engineer spoke about the Z06 and the differences between the various Z06 packages available. McElroy and Juechter were also joined by Todd Lassa, Executive Editor of Automobile magazine and Gary Vasilash, from Automotive Design & Production. It was interesting listening to Tadge’s response to several questions about the Corvette, but perhaps none was as interesting and important as his denial that a mid engine Corvette was in the brand’s immediate future. Juechter’s response to the question whether if given “carte blanche” to build a performance super Corvette would it be a front mid-engine or rear mid-engine design. Juechter’s response, “We looked at mid-engine as an alternative to this (gesturing to the Corvette Z06 in the studio), for the seventh generation car. We’ve always said, when the whole car gets better as a mid-engine architecture we would do it. Mid-engine requires a lot of compromises. You look at the elite race programs around the world, they are all mid engine. Purely performance, so if all you care about is purely performance then it makes sense to put the engine in the back. But if you’re still talking about a car that is going to be used as a daily driver or long distance tourer as well as on the track and want the car to handle very benignly on the track and have accessible performance there are a whole lot of other things that come into what is the optimum.” As a follow up Todd Lassa from Automobile magazine asked specificially about a “secret car being written about in the media and the subject of a TV show on NBC Sports last week, allegedly being currently developed called the Zora” Juechter said he’d “have to check that out because I know no such car exists.” But Juechter did not deny or confirm Lassa’s speculation that if a mid engine car is under development it is likely being done for another division (Cadillac). Juechter said the hosts would have to discuss that with another guest. The final question was whether a “purist” Z06 was in the future, a model without cylinder deactivation and a fixed roof coupe. Juechter said he’d love to do a “purist” Z06 but was not at liberty to discuss future products. You can view the entire Autoline AfterHours show below. Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream Source: Autoline After Hours

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He said "immediate future". A good way of dodging the question. The C8 to him is probably not immediate future.

Maybe the mid engine mule is going to be a caddy. Then C8 will use chassis years later.

NineBall

That copy/paste was difficult to read. But I do think Chevy will come out with a "purist" Z07 at some point. Even the Z/28 didn't come out until 4 years into the Camaro production. Think about how fast a stripped-down hardtop Z07 would be, maybe even with advanced aero like an ACR instead of the spoiler.

JerriVette

Gm executives get fired if they discuss future products...even Tadge

pgviper

A purist z06 would be phenomenal. Advanced aero, 200-300 pound weight loss (back into C6 z06 territory) and a naturally aspirated engine. That would be one hell of a machine!

jvp

A "purist" Z07 is still going to have to meet all of the FMVSS and emissions/fuel econ regs that the rest of the Corvette line-up does. GM's not going to produce an off-road car that they'll sell maybe 10 or 20 of. So given that: what isn't "purist" enough about the Z07?

As for the mid-engine Corvette, I wish people would just get over it. Mid-engine cars aren't the panacea folks seem to think they are. Yes, they have a lower polar moment of inertia; as it turns out, that's both a good and a bad thing. Further, as Tadge has repeatedly said over the years: a mid-engine Corvette would compromise many of the aspects that makes a Corvette a Corvette.

If GM decides to make a mid-engine sport or GT car, I'd love to see it. But it shouldn't ever have the name "Corvette" on it.

Dominic Sorresso

I don't know. Ferraris are Ferraris and you can buy both front and mid engine models. You have rear and mid-engine Porsches. I think I read a lot of diplomatic dodge ball in Tadge's response. Why would they possibly be running a mid-engine CORVETTE labeled prototype in ALMS for the last several years?? Sorry. Doesn't add up.

jvp

For the same reason Cadillac did when GM first started in ALMS back in the 90s: because they can. You know where it lead to WRT the Cadillac? That's right: nowhere.

Further, Ferrari is a manufacturer, not a model. Corvette is a model. GM is the manufacturer (Chevy, in this case, the marketer.) The Corvette model shouldn't be mid-engine.

Steve Snake Driver

With the discounts they needed to sell the 'purist' Z/28's, I would be surprised to see them sink money into a 'purist' Z06. If you guys think there's money to be made along those lines, why not develop a kit that replaces the removable roof latches and allows the C7 Z06 roof to bolt to the car like ZR1s.

vdavenp802

Couldn't have stated the issue any better. The key is it would alter what the 'Corvette' is. If you want a GM mid engine you have the Fiero, see how that turned out.

NineBall

Who said anything about "offroad"? There are plenty of things that can be done to make things lighter and faster for the track enthusiasts. It doesn't even need to add more power, 650 is more than enough on a track.

1. Fixed roof, to gain further stiffness and hopefully reduce weight on the chassis. They could build a lighter chassis, if the top were fixed.

2. No need for 20" rear wheels, period. Maybe even fit 18s front and rear, if they clear the brakes. If not, 19/19 would still reduce rolling mass. Pick a lighter wheel design with fewer spokes. Even chrome plating adds half a pound to each wheel, delete it.

3. Make the stereo system an option. Doesn't the Z/28 only have 1 speaker?

4. Make the A/C an option, for further weight reduction. For someone who is intending to track the car, no need for A/C since we can't run it on the track.

5. Make a harness bar and removable tow hook option.

6. Lighter weight seat construction, manual adjustments instead of power. That alone could save 40 lbs.

7. Make the higher capacity coolers for the oil/trans/diff an option, for those who intend to track at higher than mid-80F temps.

8. Reduced sound proofing, rear hatch carpet optional. Like the Z/28 has no trunk carpet, neither does the ACR Viper Hardcore.

9. No HUD. No OnStar. Nothing that adds unneccessary weight.

10. Would be nice to be able to independently adjust the four corners of the suspension. That would require coil-overs though.

I'm sure others could think of other ideas here. Make this model of the car car less of a GT car, more of a performance focused car. They don't have to sell a ton of them, these costs are subsidized by all the base C7's being sold anyways. Just like the Z/28 was never meant to be some huge seller. It was built because they could build it.

BOBSZ06

If I remember correctly the mid-engine car spy shots that have been seen did have a Cadillac emblem on the front grille!
So, Tadge is correct, no Corvette, BUT perhaps it will be a Cadillac mid-engine car. After all the 2016 cts-v will have the Z06 engine and 8 speed paddle auto.

punky

I don't know anyone who is a Corvette fan that is anxious for a mid or rear engine Vette. GM would be best to leave that task in the hands of Porsche. The wine and cheese crowd that Porsche caters to likely would not consider a product so beneath their discriminating tastes anyway. It is amazing to many of us to see what some of these guys are willing to fork over for a car that has the body profile of a freshly expressed turd.

jvp

Fine; great list. All of those things will require more crash tests and further EPA emissions/fuel econ tests (change in mass == change in fuel burned). None of those tests are free. In fact, they're immensely expensive. Which means it'll all have to be rolled into the cost of the new car.

Are you going to pay that exceptionally high price for the new car? I'm not. I'll bet there are actually very few people that will (even though a lot of people here say otherwise). Which means the price will have to be even higher to keep the entire project profitable.

Be careful what you wish for. You might not like the results you get from it.

NineBall

Disagree. /Ford GT

NineBall

You are just being argumentative. I have to assume you feel the Z06 is absolute perfection, and requires no change.

"All of those things" is inaccurate. Way to take an entire list and dismiss it in its entirety.

The only thing that might require a crash test would be a chassis/roof change. EPA/fuel testing wouldn't need to be done, if powertrain is identical. The rest of the list is just tick marks on an option sheet. And, ALL of your defensiveness is squashed by the existence of the Chevrolet Z/28. That car didn't have to happen, either. But it does.

Dominic Sorresso

This is exactly the type of insular myopia that got GM to bankruptcy court in the first place.

Very recently, Lutz discussed the viability both for a mid-engine Corvette along w the creation of a Corvette sub-brand.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...gine-corvette/

With every significant manufacturer showing off initiatives for mid engine vehicles, it will be the cost of entry displaying the technical capabilities of the OEM. GM is selling vehicles around the globe. The colloquial vision of what a Corvette is simply won't cut it when you are looking to be taken seriously in other markets. If Corvette is the ultimate expression of GM's performance portfolio, then it, not Cadillac(which has its own problems establishing a place among the world's performance sedans) must demonstrate that capability.
It's time for GM to put up or shut up!

KraZ

If no mid-engine Zora then my transition to another make is certain, I love vettes and have had 2 but were far past the era of single cam, front mounted motors wasting power from tire slippage.. Even Ford built a mid engine GT years ago, GM seems like it is one big car salesmen just trying to push vehicles, I hate to say it but that is my discernment. At this age, I'm looking for a more well thought-out design.

jvp

I didn't say that in the least.

Change in seats. Addition of harness bar (it's something in the path of the airbags and/or restraints). Change in wheels will, by design, necessarily change the potential Cf of the contact patch. These things will necessitate another round of crash tests.

Incorrect. Let's go through your list again:

• Changing the chassis changes the mass which will effect fuel econ.
• Changing the wheels will change the contact patch Cf, change the rotational (and therefore overall) mass. Change in fuel econ.
• Higher capacity coolers will require changes in aero to get the air too the coolers. Higher capacity coolers will also change the mass. They'll also change how the car responds to load. These will change the fuel econ.

Two things WRT the Z/28. First: it's gravy. The Camaro has a higher volume, lower-performance version that makes the entire line profitable, and has for a few years. Without the V6 and lower-performance V8 versions of the Camaro padding the bottom line for that body, the Z/28 wouldn't exist.

Second: It's a smashing sales success, isn't it?

Oh... wait a sec... Sorry for that. It isn't.

In order for Team Corvette to make a successful business-case for a street-legal, lightweight, very uncomfortable Corvette, they'll need to show potential sales volume OR have so much money padding the bottom line that the model is gravy (that's why the ZR1 exists in the C6 line: the rest of the line made it gravy). We're not at that point yet with the C7. Maybe we'll get there, but the costs will not be insignificant, and the potential market for such a car is a lot smaller than it was for the ZR1.

NineBall

Economies of scale. You do not acknowledge that the relatively low price of those V8 Corvettes and Camaros are also a result of GM subsidizing the costs of engine development with the SUV/Truck market. A lot of performance development is also split with Cadillac. The Corvette program itself has never been asked to carry the full burden of Corvette development costs. GM is also a global company, not just a small factory in Bowling Green.

If you think the Z/28 was intended to be a stellar sales leader, then I can't have this conversation with you. You simply don't get it. Mark Stielow and crew developed that car because they could, not because they had to. That is all I'm asking about a "purist" model Z06.