Detroit Steel

Like it or not, there’s no escaping discussions of a next-gen mid-engine C8.

It seems the only thing left is for General Motors to issue an official press release announcing the car is in development. While opinions might be a bit mixed on whether the market is ready for a $150,000 Corvette, I stumbled on an interesting list of ten cars that have paved the way for a possible mid-engine C8, as highlighted in a Road & Track report.

Read the rest on the Corvette Forum homepage. >>

racebum

hope not,

granted mid engine in theory is a better layout

but

GM will be back to square 1 with testing and development. porsche has made a mac strut fast via decades of refinement. GM has had a good thing ever since the c5. don't wreck that, evolve it

Xtac6

GM has been wanting to do a mid/rear engine Corvette and Cadillac for years but its always been shot down because of costs. It appears someone at GM has finally decided to do it this time. They will combine the platform and get two divisions to fund it and now you will soon have it.

rcooper

A mid engine Corvette would be a neat addition to the GM lineup. If Caddy and Chevy were both involved they might be able to come up with a memory seat system that would really work. If so, I am afraid that the cost will be to much for their existing market. It would require some serious marketing and high cost testing. The mid engine niche is going to be a tough one to crack.
There is no doubt that there will be a mid engine in the future, most likely a hybrid, as by the time it is on the market the CAFE regulations will be much more strict.
But what do I know I am just a consumer, and cars of that ilk are out of my range. And unless they come with a self loading system for the driver I am sure that I will be to old to get in the car

jamesw95

If the current vette is right at 50/50 front/rear what advantage would the mid engine provide?

Steve_R

Apparently we didn't have enough mid-engine C8 threads in the C7 forum.

If we try hard maybe we can fill the entire first page of C7 Gen with them.

dpb

Nobull

Come on people. No way is there going to be a mid engine Corvette in the foreseeable future. What was the market for the Ford GT, or the Audi R8. The money to develop such a limited platform would be stupendous. It's a Chevrolet folks, not a Porsche 918 or a McClaren P1. The Corvette is an
"everyman's psudo Ferrari or Lambo. Stepping this up to a $150,000 plus, with an emphasis on the plus--I think not. Just a way for Car and Driver, Motor Trend, etc to sell more magazines. One more point--How many people track their cars, or even know how to drive their corvettes on the track?

ANTIVNOM

Jury is out for me on that. But i will say that if the Corvette moves up to the price range that a mid engine car is likely to carry, I fear it will drive too many people out of the market, which could bode badly for the future of the car.

Steve_R

Reviving a thread that's over a year old?

stevebz06

There are lots of advantages. Have you ever changed the clutch on a front engine RWD car? The exhaust is HEAVY. A mid engine car you might hold the exhaust in one hand.

Trying to decide if your torque tube should be steel or CF? A mid engine car doesn't have one. Or a drive shaft, either.

The steering frequently can be managed without power steering. There is a reason almost all pure race cars have gone to mid engine.

As for the cost, there have been a number of relatively inexpensive ME production cars. It is not a given that mid engine automatically means high cost.

I think 50/50 is not necessarily the perfect balance that we were told. Maybe back when a lot of cars had a heavy front bias.