64modified

As the proud new owner of a C7Z and an avid GM customer for most of my life, I'm having a hard time understanding why so many folks appear to be interested in, and excited about, the possibility of a mid-engine American sports/muscle car (which is how I classify the Vette).

I simply can't imagine popping the hood of a Vette and finding a trunk where the engine is supposed to be! I gotta figure that such a car would be much more difficult to work on and I'm not looking forward to hearing or feeling the engine behind me.

So, aside from the possible benefit of better handling on the race track (which, realistically, includes a small percentage of us), why would any Vette owner want a FerrariVette? Why not just leave the Vette alone and buy a Ferrari instead?

For my part, I hope they always make a front-engine version of this awesome car! Seems to me it's already got a great following and does pretty well on the track as it is...

kenw

I agree with your sentiments and I suspect the new ZR1 will beat even more of the mid-engine cars.

Obviously, some at GM think it is the next step. Hope they are right but I believe I will be keeping my 17 Z for a long time.

64modified

I hope that if/when they come out with a mid-engine version that they also keep making the front engine Z06/ZR1 as well. I suspect, however, that they won't. That being the case, I'll eventually be in the market to trade up to the last model-year of the front-engine version (hopefully we get plenty of advanced notice before they are discontinued).

Like I said earlier, I just can't imagine that I'd ever want a mid-engine version of this car...

sTz

... and probably losing the manual transmission too, which is unfortunate. There’s a C8 sub-forum where a lot of these topics have been discussed.

Billy346

rmorin1249

Me too. Folks say ME cars are progress and the future. I don't agree.

direct007

There was nothing wrong with the iPhone 7, but people scooped up the iPhone X. It's human nature to want the newest, bestest thing...whatever it is. As soon as the Corvette enthusiasts get used to the C8...they will be clamoring for the C9. It's what keeps the assembly lines buzzing.

mschuyler

I get what you are saying. There is something special about the front engine rumble of an American V8 that is hard to explain. I know full well that some foreign made mid-engines are faster, more nimble, and have lots of things going for them, so not knocking them. But. They don't make my heart beat and my bones vibrate like a classic front-engine power house like the C7. It's not just capability, but includes nostalgia, history, and the wide-open West. It's also the grin factor.

But I also see where and why they are going this way. They are in a specifications race, needing to outdo everyone with times, speeds, and performance they can show is "better." And Zora wanted them to do this. And they may think they have wrung out all they can from this style. So if their market research and focus groups turn up the idea that we want an ME, and they kind of want to do it anyway, I can see that at a certain point they will make the decision, put in the resources, and be committed to it regardless. It's got to be a gamble for them, no matter what they do. I'm not sure I would want to be in their shoes.

roadbike56

Mid-engine, high performance sports cars have a distinct advantage.
No less than Zora Arkus-Duntov was disappointed that the 1963 Corvette was not a mid-engine car. From the book, "All Corvettes Are Red", the C5 was developed as a compromise. The transmission was moved to the rear, but not the engine because relocating at that time would have cost too much. As recent as the C7, GM wanted a mid-engine car, but coming out of bankruptcy was not a good time to spend large dollars on mid-engine development.
This time, the stars are aligned. Our favorite sports car will join the ranks of mid-engine cars. My hope is, that like it's predecessor Corvettes, it will be a fire breathing monster that can chew up the competition while costing the consumer a little more than a pony car.

SLOWRYDE

I think we are all just naturally resistant to change. We get comfortable in what we know and just stick "with what works". However, the marketers of Corvettes are very clever and they know what will eventually win our hearts over. I love my C7 GS, as I did the numerous Corvettes that came before this one. And when the time comes, I will move this one on and look forward to taking delivery of my mid - engine C8, or whatever generation is next.

rmorin1249

The baby boomers grew up with FE muscle cars. The millennials may well migrate to a ME Corvette and/or Cadillac. GM is betting on the success of the ME design. A hybrid or all electric may be next.

Pineapple

Simply, it’s more exotic.

orca1946

As my son [Sean] said - "dad ,how long did it take porsche to figure out how to stop swapping ends in the 911 most of the time when hitting the brakes in a turn???"
"Do you think G M is going to be able to do that right out of production of the 1st generation of rear/mid engine cars?"
I'll stay with tried and true front engine Vettes!

village idiot

Asking why a dedicated sports car is making changes to handle better is beyond baffling.

Michael A

To sum it up in one sentence, because mid-engine cars with eight or more cylinders howling away back there are just plain bad@ss!

foreverfuelie

Amen^^^^! The beauty of our capitalistic society is, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it! I’m confident that even if a FE is discontinuing, there will be an abundance of ‘19’s or 20’s available on the used market for sometime.

Grand Slam

Not to mention that it won't be practical to use a mid-engine C8 as a daily drier if the only storage area is the (small) front compartment.

AzDave47

You would want the convertible model for that.

Guard Dad

A mid engine format offers numerous dynamic advantages that can’t be ignored. Having said that I have concerns about the ease of entry/exit and diminished cargo capacity that plague many mid engine cars, items that could turn what is currently an excellent long distance GT car into an expensive toy that has little use beyond an occasional track day or canyon run.

I have every confidence that the C8 will be an excellent preformer, my concern is that the price will be too high and/or the utility too limited to allow me to consider purchasing what I expect will be a spectacular car.

JoesC5

You need to read the SAE article about the new 1963 Corvette, that was partly written by Zora Arkus-Duntov.

Duntov was pretty excited about the 1963 Corvette and he explained why they did not choose a mid engine layout nor a rear transaxle layout for the 1963 Corvette.

As for the layout for the C5, Dave McLellan(chief engineer) and Chuck Jordan(Design vice-President) liked the mid engine layout, but Jim Perkins(Chevrolet General Manager) was hot for the front engine, rear transmission idea.

Guess who was the boss and who wasn't when it came down to mid engine vs front engine for the C5. The front engine, rear transmission was considered for the 1963 Corvette was deemed too expensive. As it was designed, the 1963 Corvette had a 47%/53% weight distribution and a 16.5" center of gravity. The C5/C6/C7 base car has a 51%/49% weight distribution with a 17.5" center of gravity.


As everyone knows, the front engine C5 was a huge success(lots of them made and a lots of money made for GM), and the C5 kept the Corvette from being scrapped. Four years into production, the C5 wasn't selling for 20% off MSRP as what has happened with the C7.