C5Driver

I’m thinking yes.

King Dranzer

Practically there is no possibility of Corvette coming with all C/F body panels unless it is a limited edition made for rich.

sandcracker21

Absolutely not. MAYBE on a future zr1 or other TOP end model. This would shoot the price way out of most people's range

juanvaldez

Some body panels are just for aerodynamics, why make them out of something light and strong and expensive, make them out of something light and cheap.

JerriVette

Plastic composites..not carbon fiber..

LIStingray

This question goes back to: how much will a C8 cost?
CF panels are about 7x the cost of fiberglass and about 1/2 the weight.
Assuming the C8's panels costs are the same as the C7, it would add about $12,000 in materials cost plus however more expensive they are to prep and paint.
If the ME C8 is going to be priced within $10k of a C7, the answer is no - but if the base C8 starts at $89k, then it would be a real possibility.

JerriVette

Cheaper ways to lightweight for the standard model...it’s probable that as the upmarket 700 plus hp versions will have some added carbon fiber body panels offered...

There are better ways to lightweight that are less expensive and more effective...

Carbon fiber body panels for the most part are more for marketing purpose to show off to others at cars and coffee...

Jmo

JoesC5

The body panels on the Corvette have gotten lighter over the years, thus there is not the weight savings as there was in 1997 by using carbon fiber.

The C5 and C6 had SMC panels with a high density fiberglass filling. The carbon fiber panels on the C6 Z06 and ZR1 did save some weight and was worthwhile..

On the 2014 C7, GM used a medium density fiberglass SMC decreasing the weight savings of using carbon fiber. Using carbon fiber saved weight but not as much as during the C5 and C6 years with the high density SMC

The 2016 C7 went with a low density hollow glass sphere SMC which saved even more weight . Carbon fiber doesn't save that much weight over using the low density SMC now being used for the body panels.

Shaka

My C6 Z06 has factory CF front fenders that weigh 3 lbs each.

C5Driver

Well its just that GM has claimed in the past that the C/F hoods on the C7 were not that costly to add due to a new process. Im thinking maybe not on the base cars but definitely on a higher end model.

elegant

All C7 roofs, except the translucent roof chosen option, are CF. I would expect the ME’s roof is also CF — best possible choice to reduce body roll (lower CG).

Perhaps the hood and/or other parts might be too.

DickieDoo

No need for CF, except in the most crucial areas, in 2016 C7 panels were infused with bubble to make them lighter, in fact they approached CF in terms of lightness but at a much lower cost.

JoesC5

I would be surprised if the CF roof saves more than 2-3 pounds over the low density hollow glass sphere filled SMC roof.

Better places to spend that additional money(for carbon fiber) on the car to save weight and to lower the center of gravity.

In fact, when GM was designing the C6 Z06, they decided that having the front fenders made of carbon fiber was more productive then having the roof made of carbon fiber.

NY09C6

Absolutely no way.

vetteLT193

When the C7 came out the company that makes the CF parts had a diagram pop up that showed the weight savings for using carbon fiber in the C7 pointing to specific parts.

The roof saves 13 lbs, Roof bow cover saves another 3. Hood saves 12, rocker saves 1, fender saves 4 and splitter saves 1.3.

The different weight savings for different sized parts that don't add up are because they use different density SMC for different parts. The roof is low density but relatively high compared to other parts which is why the savings is so much there vs other parts.

JoesC5

And it was reported when the C6 ZR1 came out, that the carbon fiber roof panel and the roof bow combined saved 7.7 pounds over the heavier high density glass filled SMC that is used on the 2009 C6 Z06. That's quite a contradiction to the 16 pounds you posted. I wonder why.

The latest C7(2016+) uses the low density hollow glass sphere SMC that is quite a bit lighter than the SMC used in the C6 Z06, and the mid density fiber glass filled SMC used in the original 2014 C7.

Based on what was published about the C6's use of carbon fiber, I don't see much of a savings using carbon fiber for the roof.

By the way, the heavy high density fiber glass filled SMC used on the 2009 C6 Z06 weighed 4 pounds more than the polycarbonate(same material as the transparent roof material) roof, originally used on the 2005/2006 C6 and the 2006 Z06(that would not stay glued on and kept fly off).

As I earlier said, when designing the C6 Z06(with the lightweight polycarbonate roof) GM felt is was better to use the carbon fiber for the front fenders than on the roof. One reason for that decision was that it lowered the weight on the front of the car, which helped front/rear weight distribution. Going with carbon fiber on the roof would not have helped F/R weight distribution.

The list you provided says the "fender" saves 4 pounds. Which fender is that?

For the C6 ZR1, the total weight savings was approximately 35 pounds vs the high density SMC used on the standard C6. Today, compared to the low density hollow glass filled SMC used on some of the body panels of the C7, I doubt that there would be 17-18 pounds savings, by replacing everyone of the low density panels with carbon fiber. On the 2016 C7, the low density hollow glass SMC panels saved approximately 20 pounds over the medium density fiberglass panels used on the 2014 C7(which were lighter than the high density fiberglass panels used on the C6.

jagamajajaran

CSP has the contract for the composite body panels for the current Corvette as well as some future products per their own statements a couple of years ago. The 8th Gen Corvette will have a mix of body panel compositions.

JoesC5

Is Plasan Carbon Composites not making anything for the C7 and future products?

Monkey D. Luffy

no way it's all carbon

jma242

No.

CF Wheel Option ... Possibly.