FrankLP

Absolutely not. This is arguably the most significant transition for Corvette; truly a revolutionary time. And many Corvette enthusiasts (myself included) as well as other Motorsports enthusiasts believe that this "radical departure" is actually needed to sustain Corvette; to propel Corvette for years to come.

I'm guessing another future "radical departure" for Corvette will be associated with GM's (and auto makers in general) emphasis on moving towards electric (and/or hybrid) technology.

Enjoy the ride!

carnutsx2

Part of the advantage is GM can part bin shop to build a car that lays down numbers of cars costing multiple times more. I think there is market share for at least 2 cars , the ME may canabaliz some FE sales but I bet it will pull people from other brands. Why would GM build a car that in the ends sell less cars, if memory serves me correctly they are in the business of making a profit.

MikeG37

It'll have room in the front and rear. My wife and I took a 10 day.. over 3,500 mile trip in our Cayman and had no problem with space to put stuff. The Corvette is going to be bigger in just about every dimension, especially the width and depth of the area behind the engine and above the exhaust. Highly doubt it's going to have the space above the engine that the Cayman has, but it may have a little storage behind the seats.
I'd imagine the front trunk will be roughly the same size.

jcp911s

In 2001 my wife bought a Boxster. We loaded it up for 2 weeks at the beach, (including a telescope) with no problem. I had a business meeting, and drove it from Rehoboth Beach to DC and back in one day, and it was fantastic. To say a ME car is not practical is only from people who have never owned one.

1SG_Ret

Nope

JoesC5

Try that in a mid engine 2005 Ford GT with it's 1 cu ft of cargo space in the front.

SouthernSon

There are folks that take cross country trips on bikes, too, with only tank/trunk and saddle bags. But I don't think the majority of baby boomers are in that category. Most like lots of comfort and the amenities of home on their trips.

MikeG37

Better have a passenger that's willing to occupy and share that car's only meaningful storage space.

jcp911s

There are "folks" who run marathons across the desert and eat nothing but cockroaches.

The boxster had the same storage capacity as my C7. The "majority" of [inset some type] don't buy $70K sports cars. "Most" people eat at Cracker Barrel.

jcp911s

If I has the money to buy a Ford GT, I doubt I'd have a problem finding a passenger willing to share the car's meaningful space.

jefnvk

There may be a market space for both cars, but not under the Corvette name. Also, Chevy is pulling no significant number of people from exotic brands.

People seem to think that because it is ME, it somehow becomes an exotic. That's simply wrong. At the end of the day, its still gonna be a Corvette, with the engine in a different place

A Ford GT has never been a car that one uses in any sort of useful capacity. People aren't loading them up and driving them cross country. The Corvette HAS been that car.

AORoads

Why all this negativity on Cracker Barrel Restaurant? Your answer here:_________________

Is this some kind of a "deplorable" restaurant, or the people who you think go there? Your answer here:______________

And are they the "type" of people who don't buy Corvettes? Your answer here:________________

Who is this "majority" you speak of that don't buy $70K sports cars---because frankly, with 35,000 Corvettes sold per year (even if you TRIPLE that number to include all other brands and models) and about 252 million people over the age of 18 you seem to state the obvious, but you must mean something else, right? Your answer here:_____________

jschindler

jschindler

AORoads

Well, maybe …. Nah, I'd just like to see the answers. Then again, as said before, "we" aren't the majority of annual new Corvette buyers. They will be the true test of an ME.

jcp911s

A. Ever eat at Cracker Barrel?

B. I never said "deplorable"... you are the one suggesting that patrons are "deplorable" (where did that come from). I have eaten at Cracker Barrel many time, so I have personal experience.

C. US vehicle sale are roughly 17M units a year. 35K divided by 17M is... gees, my economics degree from lowly Penn State prevents me from calculating beyond 3 significant digits, but I doubt the answer is "a majority" buy Corvettes.

D. Some easier math... 17,000,000 minus 35,000 is 16,965,000 (roughly) so whatever "type" you want to name, the probability is they don't buy a Corvette.

E. Extra credit... as a HPDE instructor I see many younger "folks" (you would lump together a "Millenials" or some other stereotype) who drive performance cars and enjoy exploring performance on the track. As they age, and their incomes go up, they may turn onto "old guys" buying Corvettes 20 years from now.

jefnvk

True, but I'd argue that two seat sports cars in general give up a lot of daily driver functionality, that even other performance cars like Camaros and Mustangs do offer. Heck, I could put two bikes in the trunk of that fairly easily, good luck getting one in pretty much any two seat sports car.

I have little doubt that the C8 will be well engineered to keep a similar amount of space as previous gens, but lets not pretend that was a helluva lotta space to begin with.

Dominic Sorresso

Shaka

Pigface1

As long as it has cupholders and a spot for 2 sets of golf clubs, it will be an absolute home run. Imagine 750bhp with actual grip below 100mph. The fact that they've made front engine cars that run with mid engine supercars already is incredible. It is absolutely feasible that the ZR1 equivalent, however many years away that is, will legitimately be in hypercar territory.

This is a massive undertaking and 5 years prior to the 09 ZR1 release, people would have said you were off your rocker if you thought GM/Corvette would ever go that far beyond a Z06. Point being, they have a goal in mind and it can only be reached with mid engine.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I wouldn't bet on it.