Shaka

No production Corvette has had a trans axle thanks to Dave Hill. The C8 can't avoid it. All post war FWD cars have trans axles. A Viper has an identical gearbox to the C5, 6 and 7 except the C7 added another gear.

Chrisrokc

The information that I got a few weeks ago was there would be three engine options. LS/LT, Flat Crank, and a higher end twin turbo v8. This is from someone working on the powertrain.

Was also told that they are working with a DCT. I will also add that we had a discussion about high horsepower applications and DCT's like the one in the GTR.

NoOne

If what you are hearing is true then the ME is a Cadillac, not a Chevy.

As far as the DCT I have changed my opinion on a TC trans versus a DCT.

I got my new S4 2 weeks ago and coming from a '14 S4 with a DSG it really is 95 percent, if not closer to the DSG unit.

The biggest problem the TC trans had in mimicking a DCT was low speed downshifts. If a DSG was 10 my wife's SQ5 with the ZF 8 speed was a 3, it was horrible in rapid downshifts at lower speeds like coming into a corner.

My new S4 it is barely perceptible to acceptable with almost no feeling transmitted into the car as it downshifts. It will drop multiple gears, responds instantly to the paddles and the downshift speeds seem equal to the up shift speeds. None of the downshifts upset the car which was the biggest thing I found in trying to get a TC to mimic a DSG.

I really was impressed and amazed by it.

Then again GM is not Audi so yet to be seen if they will put the time into refining and tuning to get that kind of performance.

NoOne

Did you read the link to the file you posted?

Transaxle means the transmission and axle are one assembly regardless of where it is.

elegant

Remembering what c7pimp said in one of the top three ME viewed threads, and he has seen a couple final GM mid-engine pictures, “it has a Corvette emblem on its hood.”

Latest rendering by firstvettesoon:

NoOne

That does not necessarily mean the ME platform will launch as a Corvette. Long term planning is usually 10 years out.

I say Cadillac for a few reasons:

1. Price. At 100K, if you take out the trucks and current C7 your 2X the average sale price of a vehicle in a Chevy dealer. You also have 2X the sales staff to be uninformed about a product.

2. There are just under 1K Caddy dealers. There are about 3K Chevy dealers. Much easier to create a support network in a smaller dealer network.

3. Your selling a 100K base price car, customers have expectations. Much easier to do that in a Caddy dealer than a Chevy dealer which I would hope service is already superior.

4. If the C8 is going to continue and be FE why sell something to cannibalize your current product on the same showroom floor?

I know the first response from someone will be "What about the Zr1, its over 100K". There is a big difference from selling a 60K car at 120K with options versus someone shopping at 100K to start.

If they want to launch a car at that price they need a support network to do it, sales, service, customer expectations, all of it. Caddy dealers are still quite a ways behind the other luxury brands as far as dealership experience but they are miles ahead of Chevy dealers.

On top of that you now have the luxury dealers going through dealer store refreshes. The Audi dealer near us where we get our cars serviced was basically torn down and rebuilt. It is not done but looks pretty amazing so far and it wasn't bad too start with.

The point is the bar for a luxury dealer is going to be even further apart in the next 2-3 years as all these dealers refresh.

dmaxx3500

didn't the caddy ''XLR'' come out 6 months-1 year before the new corvette,back in 2004-5?

NoOne

History has no real meaning here.

You have the former head of Audi trying to shape Cadillac into the model of a Euro luxury car brand.

Not just in the car itself, but the dealership network.

Audi has 1/3 the dealers but sells 3X the cars.

JerriVette

Audi is cancelled future R8 s so this is the last generation of the R8 because it's not selling so well. JDN is out of step and the R8 competitor should be a Porsche macan competitor...not a soon to be cancelled Audi R8

The market for 100 to 200 grand 2 seat sports cars is shrinking. The NSX is a failure.

Should have been a simple twin turbo v8 and skipped all that expensive hybrid nonsense pric d to compete with the 911....

Acura can't give those things away...


The exterior is kind of mid engine boring...

The c8 with a LT1 engine starting at few grand more than today's LT1 c7

JoesC5

No reason why a front engine C8 can't have a DOHC TT engine. Mercedes has no problem doing so with their AMG GT front engine sports car. And it also has a DCT(and it's a real DCT).

Using a DCT in both the Mid engine Vette and a front engine C8 would lower costs of the DCT due to economies of scale.

The hood line is lower on the AMG GT than on the C7 Z06 and especially the C7 ZR1.

moldyviolinist

That is a good general definition.

However, I don't see a definition of the term "transaxle" in the link I posted. I was saying that document is using the term transaxle to describe "engine at the front, transmission at the back."

Because one model number for a transmission that can be fitted to both front-engine and mid-engine designs makes little sense. The output shaft(s) would be in different locations, the entire transmission would be a completely different design. Hence, I don't think GM can use the 9007 for the ME Corvette.

RedLS6

The Tremec 9007 is available in a transaxle configuration, but the problem I see is that the transaxle pictured in the CAD drawings looks nothing like the 9007, rather it looks a lot like an existing ZF unit.

Chrisrokc

Boiler_81

Agree, there have been absolutely been no rumblings of a caddy version within the automotive supply community. The only place the caddy comes up is the speculation on these boards.

ZERV

3 Flavors, LT1, 4.6TT & 5.4TT
LT1 will transition to N/A Dohc at some point down the line


DCT only Made by TREMEC


Current ZL-1 10 speed is potentially being evaluated for trans-axle re-config

JerriVette

Actually that's not true. Cadillacs JDN has stated on numerous occasions that his goal was to copy exactly what he did at Audi and that included the rear mid engine Audi R8.

Now that Audi is dumping the R8 it is possible the Cadillac variant could not make an appearance or it could be rumors of a Cadillac version has made Audi turn tail and cancel all future plans of the next gen R8 because they know they can't compete with GM when GM sets its mind to accomplish any task especially when lead by the corvette engineering team and their previous leader JDN who turned Audi around so many years ago...

Boiler_81

I know what he said. I'm talking about on the ground talk in Detroit supplier circles. There has been nothing. It's a Corvette and there is no talk of a Caddy version here.

JerriVette

Personally I believe the Cadillac version will fail miserably and Cadillac should concentrate on cuvs..

Enough with the Cadillac cars already and that includes rear mid engine halo vehicles.

The escala super sedan can do that and not sell in any numbers since everyone wants cuvs...lol or ev s...or ev cuv s..

Two doors and even four door coupes and sedans are yesterday's news..

Now it's Porsche macan s and jaguar I pace ev s...

Mid rear engine sports cars are with exception (like the iconic corvette sports car brand) are no longer desired or fashionable...their life cycles are a year at best....maybe two which doesn't pay for the development dollars invested..

I hope there is a dct , a manual and no 10 speed automatic torque converter for the 500 hp LT1 standard corvette...

The twin turbo motors are cool but I don't want the cost associated with purchase or maintaince, I like the small ohv 6.2 liter v8...I'm not a fan of complexity, weight and cost not to mention cost to repair Dohc engines etc..

GM builds the ohv v8 s for its trucks and they don't mess around with durability of the engines..

I love that about corvettes...I'll do the dct as it's one area I'd like to own...but TT Dohc ? I don't need or want that complexity ..

Besides Dohc is an older technology...

JerriVette

I don't think they will launch together and any discussion is a step I mentioned on hiatus since the car market especially sports car market ha so taken such a dive...

I believe along the way..in the not too distant future..the Cadillac variant will release after the rear mid engine fan fare has been exhausted in the news...

I'd imagine in the 3 rd year of corvette production if Cadillac is even around...(joking) the c8 variant will pop up in spy photos....

I believe the c8 research and evelopment was paid for by old GM before the bankruptcy....and that the Cadillac division funding paid for a good portion. Of the paint shop to be upgraded..

One of the major complaints on the XLR was fit and finish and paint orange peel...

The consumers shopping at the time between Mercedes sl500 and the XLR went nuts over the lack of quality in the XLR paint...body panel gap was a large deterrent as well.

I had for some time thought the body panels would on the Cadillac no longer be composites...the panel gap for expansion of composite body panels often offends german car comparison shoppers..

Corvette owners could for the most part care less so composites are fine for us.....but I thought a differientiator for the Cadillac version might be body panel materials...

Now with the Audi R 8 future generations put on hold and the acuras stunning failur to move any NSX s...

You might be right...

OnPoint

Yeah, it's pretty tough to get past that CAD drawing. Sure as hell looks like a ZF unit in the CAD drawing.