TRT SR

As we all continue to speculate on what, when and where on the ME, I am confident in GM that they will offer it to start under $100k with more expensive models in the near future. It seems to me that the Mclaren 720S is in their cross hairs for design, performance but at a much, much lower price. It will send shock waves through the super car market just as they have planed all along. The 720 sells for $300k, Ferrari and Lambo about the same and then there is the Ford GT at $450K!! I look forward to the day of the reveal and we all will be amazed on just how much time and money they have invested into this new revolutionary car that most will be able to put in their garage.

JoesC5

And the 2018 NSX starts at $159,000 and they sold 5 last month(April 2018). You would think that the NSX that sells for approximately half of what the cars you listed above, would be a hot seller, but it's not and it has all the latest bells and whistles.

Jeff V.

The Audi R8 (starting price $139k) is being discontinued entirely.

AORoads

Honda/Acura has been there before. And with the NSX, too. Before it ceased production of the former NSX they were selling in the low double digits---for years. This new NSX is a hybrid, allegedly a supercar that can be driven on track or daily, at $158K . There is a lesson to be learned from their experience with both of the NSXs.

TRT SR

$150k or more has very few takers, that is why in my opinion GM will price it much less

KnightDriveTV

Not necessarily. The NSX is on par with an LFA, in that the brand really produced the car as an exercise in engineering, more than to create a legacy brand or icon car. Lexus/Toyota went into the LFA acknowledging the car would lose money, and profits weren't it's expectation...it was more about a new design ideology, the "F" branding, etc. I think NSX really sets the stage for what Acura hopes for it's future with SH AWD hybrid tech.

People who buy the NSX are "Honda guys"...and that's that. For example...me...I'd buy the NSX for sure. I certainly would love a more "purist" model but...I'm intrigued by the car for the price...and frankly, underloved HALO's are a buyers game. Just like the LFA...though it cost 375k to start, each unit cost Toyota easily over 1mil to put on the street in total...that's a bargain from a major OEM. Today...they still cost MSRP...no one lost a dime driving it after a few years passed.

Mclaren is just in a different ball park...it's Porsche with a little bit of Koenigsegg mixed in....it's rare exotic, but hits above the belt with creature comfort and big brand like refinements. Mclarens are a bargain in my book all day.

Point is...NSX to Mclaren, not really a comparison.

Jeff V.

The cheapest mid-engine car I'm aware of is the 244hp Alfa Romeo 4C at $59k base price. The Boxster is in the same range. The next step up is the Lotus Evora 400 and base 911 at $90k. I don't think it's any coincidence that GM is benchmarking the ME car against the 911. GM has their work cut out for them if they want to bring this in under 100 and still keep it packed with technology while besting the C7 in performance.

KnightDriveTV

Given buyers know you can choose R8 or Huracan and get the same car...Huracan is crushing...that killed the R8 imo. R8 just doesn't have an edge either...it's gotten kind of lost in the shuffle over time.

KnightDriveTV

The only way you come in under 100, is by sharing the platform...that's why the C8 will also have the front engine variant selling Stingrays in abundance at 65k bucks.

We wouldn't have GT3RS's without Carreras, nor would you have Dodge Demons without 25k dollar Challengers. GM makes this ME possible through selling Stingrays. You eliminate the base front engine bread and butter, you choke out the ME...period.

Jinx

No Corvette is going to send shockwaves through the supercar market, unless you mean it's going to imperil some tiny operations that nobody's ever heard of.

Quinten33

I think that the base model mid-engine Corvette, likely called Stingray, will be targeting the 570s and Huracan LP580-2, or their replacements. Consider that the base model will use an LT1, probably with less than 500 horsepower. The 570s comes standard with 562hp, and the LP580-2 makes 573hp. They both weigh in around 3100lbs and they both have a 7-speed DCT. The C7 Grand Sport is on par with them in most performance measures, and I expect the mid-engine Stingray to be on par with the C7 Grand Sport in the same measures.

The mid-engine Grand Sport could be competing with the McLaren 600LT(570 long-tail), GT3 RS, 488GTB and the LP 610-4. The Z06 would tackle the 720S, GT2 RS, 488 successor, and Huracan Performante. That leaves the ZR1 to tackle the 720 long-tail, whatever Lamborghini decides to call their next Huracan Peformante, Whatever Ferrari calls their next 488 Pista, and the next GT2 RS.

The prices will surprise us all, no matter how low we say they will be.

JoesC5

Acura let it be known from the beginning that they were tooling up to produce approximately 2,000 NSX's annually with the USA(90%) and Japan(10%) being their market. That's why they built a dedicated plant in Ohio to build thousands, not hundreds, of NSX's annually.

True they designed the NSX to be an example of their "cutting edge technology", but it was not designed, nor marketed, to be a sales loser.

Honda is not happy with the reception that the NSX has received by the buying public. It already has a "loser" reputation that does nothing to showcase their other products.

LIStingray

Think what you want, but the Corvette, ME, ZR1, whatever, isn't competing with the Maclarens, Ferraris, Lamborghini's, Ford GT's Bugattis and higher end Porsches. People that have $300k or more to spend on a car aren't going to by a car regular people can afford, and it has zero to do with performance. Unless GM goes the Ford route (low volume & high price) and limits production to under 1,000 cars per year (which I hope they don't), the people who buy exotics will have no interest in the ME.

Bill Dearborn

The first thing you have to remember it really doesn't cost anymore to build a mid engine car than it does to build the current C7. What parts are different? Very few if any. Frame all body on frame cars require a frame. The only way they go away from a plastic body is if they go with a unibody. I doubt with the Corvettes heritage we will see the first metal Corvette any time in the next 25 years. Assembly cost shouldn't be any higher than the C7 since the car will still be assembled just as the C7 is assembled on the current production line unless they find some more time saving lower cost processes.

Bill

KnightDriveTV

I mean...any car maker wants to hit a home run, I just think realistically, no one in-company bet the farm on it. If it sells, it sells...but the engineering and developmental value is where the return on investment comes.

I see Acura branching off that car, and in fact, the NSX core is very modular also. I think, in general though, the Acura brand isn't exactly crushing the market.

The day I saw the NSX was an American product, was the day I was like....well, there goes that. Japanese Honda should've done it, and frankly if they didn't, to me, it shows that the entire project had another agenda....more of engineering value and developmental ability in the US.

KnightDriveTV

I think the costs of a mid engine are a bit more mysterious and illusive, but they're there.

From an NVH perspective, you've got a lot of work to do to make an out the door product. I think you have a lot more developmental costs, especially from a brand that doesn't build that platform routinely.

I agree, the components change, but not so in a way that it really drives up cost. I think the costs really extend in other directions, not necessarily assembly...it's maintenance, tech training, etc. I think a lot of these things can lead to increased claims and losses for the company itself, etc. Unfamiliarity across the dealer network could cost the company a lot of money and thus make the ME a lot more "expensive".

I am curious how the front of the motor will be accessed in this car, whether by the interior or if there will be space to go from beneath. Only real issue with MR cars, is accessory drive belts, timing chain, etc....you DON'T want that to become an engine out issue, because this will increase cost of ownership, and thus loss upon resale if it isn't done. You tread into exotic territory when you start to have high cost/high risk maintenance issues. You can't kick the can with those cars...you gotta own it or you lose.

I was the head of a company that build mid-engine cars with LSx motors in them. We used a variety of gearbox's and used a lot of Corvette components on the one car we offered turnkey. So, in some essence, I've worked on a "mid-engine Corvette" already...lol.

It'll come down to the packaging. Those buttresses and the overall rear design are going to dictate a lot, as well as what are going to become the "dreaded" things you don't want to happen.

fasttoys

Great points, I have owned many ME”s. My R8 had the A/C compressor go bad. Unfortunately we had to pull the motor out to replace the part. Add 4K to the service. Not fun $$. ME services are more costly

sunsalem

The problem with the R8 is it's just butt-ugly.
I like the look of the gen. 1 Audi TT...nice and proportional.
But not the R8.
From the B-pillar to the rear wheels, it's a disastrous design.
Hell, even Audi knew it.
They painted the engine air intake a different color just to break up the ungodly line.


Last time I checked, GM has little cachet with the 1 percenter crowd.

Quinten33

I should have clarified that I was talking about performance when saying what the mid-engine Vette will compete with.

dcbingaman

I agree with Bill. The C8 will be built on the same line as today's C7 by the same 1000 teammates that staff GM Bowling Green. The unit touch labor cost should be about the same as long as they produce 33,000 cars a year. The difference will be in the PBOM - i.e. the parts list. The biggest change in IMHO will be the Tremec DCT. I expect it may cost a bit more than the M7 or A8, but, as Daniel Pund's article in the May C&D indicates, if they standardize on one DCT transaxle for every car, that simplifies the assembly line, so a higher priced component may be offset by less assembly labor.

Pound also indicates that the first engine will be an updated NA LT1, with the DOHC 5.5L engine coming later. If that is true, the engine will be relatively lees expensive than the competition, (for a while). If they chose the LT1 as the base option, will they also introduce a Z51 or Z06 version with the LT4 in MY2020 or 21 ? It would seem to me, this would be a pretty easy option to add, since the LT4 fits in the same space as the LT1 and the new, common Tremec DCT transaxle is being built to handle up to 800 HP for future variants.

In addition, the new body will need volume for cooling radiatorsfor future higher horsepower variants, so adding a couple radiators for the LT4 intercooler should be relatively straight-forward. I, for one, really don't want to only choose between a ~500 HP NA LT1, and an 800 HP DOHC super motor that could be expensive to buy and more expensive to maintain. The LT4 is proven, doesn't cost much more than an LT1, and with enough cooling, (e.g. Camaro ZL1), is plenty of HP for me. I hope I have the option to buy one.