RonnieC6Z

At the LA auto show last November, I met a lady from Detroit who works for Chevy, specifically in marketing for Corvette and Camaro. We spoke for 20 minutes, and she imparted to me the following. If all goes as planned, the C8 will be a mid engine turbo charged V8, and will be introduced as a 2019 model at the 2018 Detroit auto show next January. Production should start late summer or early fall of 2018. Pricing should start at no more than $5000.00 above the C7, hopefully less. The mid engine C8 will have a dual clutch gear box. She did not know if a manual gear box will or will not be offered, and did not know if a front engine Vette will still be offered, and, if so, for how long. Her guess is that if the 2019 model year offers both mid and front engine Corvettes, 2019 would be the last year of a front engine car. But that is just her guess.
All of the above needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I am just repeating what I was told.

What do I think? My thoughts are based on owning front engine cars (2 C4's, 3 C5's, 5 C6's, 1 C7, and other front engine sports cars) plus mid engine cars (Toyota MR2, Ferrari 360 Spider, Ferrari F430 Spider, and 2013 Porsche Boxster S). Every car that I have owned is my daily driver. If Chevy decides to make the C8 mid engine only and discontinue the front engine platform all together, as long as the price is close to the C7, I welcome the mid engine C8 with open arms. I love my 2016 Z51 3LT C7 convertible, but I do have a passion for mid engine sports cars. If you have never driven one on the twisties, then you don't know what you are missing. And the sound of the engine directly behind you is intoxicating! Furthermore, if Porsche can build the Boxster S and Cayman S and sell them for the same price as the similarly equipped C7, then Chevy can build a mid engine C8 Corvette and keep in reasonably priced. There is no doubt in my mind that GM will build a mid engine sports cars much sooner than later, and it will be a Corvette. The bottom line is wait and see.

Suns_PSD

Good info.

I think it's great that you drive these great sports cars as DDs.

Thanks!

DCortez

What I hope.

vetteb_96C

Same info came from my source. Mid-engine model comes in as a 2019 and concurrent with C7. They will coexist for a few years.

hifi875

everyone I speak with that works at corvette plant which is located where I live, just smile at me when I ask them about it.

roadbike56

If the plan is, in fact, a 2019 introduced in 2018, expect delays will drive it to a 2020, introduced in 2019. The C7 will coexist for two years beyond introduction.
Of course, I'm using the same crystal ball that predicted the ZR1 would be introduced last week at Geneva, So.......

LIStingray

The only way the car will be $5,000 above the current car is if that is $5,000 above the Z06/Z07, and the dual clutch sequential gearbox is a $10,000 option.
GM has no sequential gearbox, and has no use for one beyond a high performance vehicle - ZF's 7 speed is limited to 540 ft-lbs of torque, so unless GM is designing, engineering and building their own - which costs lots of money, that part is pure fantasy (although I guess they could just offer the car with a regular 460 hp LT1)

Kane00ZR1

FWIW, I spoke with the same woman at the LA Auto Show and she said pretty much the same thing. She said her bosses had already told her and her team to get prepared for Frankfurt. She also mentioned that what was coming was all new and not out of the "parts bin" We were discussing the Corvette so I believe she was referring to the two cars we have seen with the wings. Interesting none the less.

9T3VETTE

Bingo. Anyone that works in the industry connected to the vehicle is not going to say much. Quick way to loose a job

Newton06

Talking last week to a friend who is a Dept Mgr at a Hendrick Chevy dealer - he said GM brass told them the ME C8 is coming 'soon'. That's about all he had to say on the matter.

Hearsay, but I trust the reference.

Steve Garrett

More guesses.....

23/C8Z

I can't imagine what an atrocity an ME corvette costing only 60k would look like.. omg. It would feel like the 80's called and wants their materials and fit/finish back lol

senah

if gm plans to drop the front engine version, they will have to have a reasonably priced entry level midengine available. or they could produce the m.e. as their halo supercar and come out with an entry level 2 seater convertible that goes back to corvette roots instead of one car model only like we have now with the c7 which is both supercar and daily driver sports car. the competition has pushed the envelope to the point that corvette has to have the midengine to compete. it makes a lot of sense to have 2 distinct options with appropriately pricing for each.

the 125-150 k prices talked about will be for cars loaded with every option. gm would be ecstatic to be able to sell more than just a few models of anything in that price range, but no matter what, they won't sell very many compared to their total sales.

they will have well under 100 k sports cars for many years to come. anybody who thinks the economic future doesn't have the possibility of major downturns has not looked at the current state of fundamentals (such as several more "bubbles" lurking very close to the surface and ready to pop), and any company as large as gm has to be able to function in whatever environment that develops.

dmaxx3500

the bowling green plant expansion is way to big for 1 car line,they need to offer 2-3 cars from there to recoup the money they put into it

id bet they will built the c7 type/car for 3-5 years,while building the c8 car as a caddy/corvette,but the c8 will probably start at $90-100k ,the c7 is about $50-60 base

senah

the bar has already been raised; no way can they ever go back to a lower quality build.

guesses maybe, but guesses based on information readily available with logic applied to it. of course, the possibility of error always has to be factored in.

but, barring major economic change precluding the advisability of going forward with production, the c8 which is well along in development and testing and for which you can be sure the design is already set will be the midengine supercar, and some plan is almost certainly in place to continue a c7 like car or replace it with a new design in order to keep the 50 to 80 k price range that corvette gives such value in and sells so many vehicles in covered.

alienranch

Even though I don't like this answer, I believe it 100%.

NoOne

In a forum created for people to make wild *** guesses on the new car.

Imagine that.

Larry/car

We will see!

Chicago1

So the c7 will only have a 5 year run? lol

LIStingray

Which "competition" is that?
In its price range of $55-81,000 (MSRP starting prices for Base to Z06), name one other car that out performs it?
If you consider cars like the up level 911 GTs Turbo, Acura NSX, Nissan GTR Nismo, Ford GT, Mclaren 570 (not really a better performer) or 675, Ferrari 488 to be the "competition, then expect to pay $150,000+ for that next Corvette.