Darion

Tell ya this, after driving a new Blazer I cant see any way that is the base for a Corvette SUV, pretty awful really. If this is the way they are going I hope they figure out another way to go.

PC

Red08Roadster

I read somewhere that hot V placement of turbos helps reduce/eliminate turbo lag.

roadbike56

Interesting that both C&D and MT both indicate the C7 continues after the C8 is introduced.

Plexoer

No it doesn't make sense. Over 9000 C7s unsold tells a different story. We are all ready for the next big thing, not the current FE. A new FE is a different story, but the current one is played out.

Plexoer

Huh?? The MT article literally says the C8 means the end of the front engine rear drive car.

PCMIII

There are a lot of unsold C7s because Corvette has not upgraded the Stingray in over 6 years since introduction. In fact, the A8 was a downgrade. OTOH the upgraded ZR1 has basically no inventory and they can't make them fast enough.
Corvette is not stupid. Killing the best FE ever makes no sense.

PCMIII

The C7 will no longer be the flagship of Corvette. The ME will be the high performance track model for Corvette Racing.

roadbike56

"...Though GM is wondering whether the existing C7 could be reworked and repositioned as an entry level Corvette...."

jimmyb

Here's my prediction:
The Stingray and GS are gone when the C8 introduces.
The C7 Z06/ZR1 will continue, to be fazed out over a couple years. Assuming the first higher performance C8 (over the base) will kill the C7Z06, and then the gonzo C8 version will supplant the C7ZR1. Another scenario is they go on and kill the C7Z06 along with the Stingray and GS on the C8 introduction and keep the C7ZR1 for a year or two.

****THE ABOVE IS MY PREDICTION. I HAVE ZERO KNOWLEDGE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN. IT IS JUST A GUESS!!!!!!

jimmyb

The C7 is NOT the "flagship" of Corvette...it is THE Corvette....

And just so YOU are clear:
Corvette (brand/car/icon) does NOT exist for Corvette Racing. Corvette Racing EXISTS to further the promotion and marketing of Corvette (brand/car/icon). Corvette is a PROFIT generating entity. Corvette Racing is NOT a profit generating entity, it is a way to promote CUSTOMER sales of Corvette. Jeez, what are you, 10?

CRABBYJ

Now, wouldn’t it be something that this is very close to a Final C7.5 Edition some of us expect to close out the FEs. MT doesn’t have that much foresight do they?

I kind of like it except the C6 looking hatch.

jimmyb

It shows how LITTLE the magazines actually KNOW. Four months before release of the C7 and MT photoshops a C6 GS????

VETTE-NV

One tidbit from a completely unreliable magazine and the village idiot wakes up and cites it as gospel. The guys at GM must be busting a gut at this place.

23/C8Z

C7 lives on getting an ME of some sort. Firmly believe all that talk of both being able to be produced on the same line simultaneously early on was for a reason. Going ME is an all or nothing if they don't have the alternative to pick up slack say if production has to be halted 6mos in due to an engineering failure etc etc.. this car cannot sustain if the ME fades after a year or two and chevy realizes it's -- too much to insure after they start getting wrecked -- not enough storage for the people that buy it for a GT car -- or lose sales to people moving to other ME cars 20 or 30k more.. tough market they're entering. said it before i'll say it again nobody here WANTS chevy's $65k version of an ME corvette.. you think you do..but you won't. it'll be like a Lambo knockoff until it's up in the low $100's like $140k ish to be on par inside and hold up.

Red67John

I think that a $100-140k ME would be more of a Lamborghini knock-off than a $60-70k ME would be.

It’s a Corvette. A mass produced American sports/GT car, not a euro super car. GM never intended the Corvette to go head-to-head with supercars and they shouldn’t now, The Corvette has always been the highest performing, most bang-for-your-buck kind of sports car, and that is what the ME should be as well.

Very shortly, the C8 will totally replace the C7 as America’s sports car and not everyone will like it, I’m not sure I do, but then a lot of Corvette enthusiasts are not in love with the C7 either. The dwindling sales numbers over the past couple years prove that. It’s time for the full generational change to the C8 even that means a different concept for the Powertrain and only two pedals.

I would not be surprised to see a derivative of the Blackwing as one of the engine options in the C8. GM did not develop the Blackwing, and set up it’s production at Bowling Green, just to put it in a few hundred CT6 cars.

wilfie

If I worked at GM I would be one of the ones pushing to keep a modded FE entry level. I think tactically it is a mistake to give up a market niche it dominates/owns.
Not ever discussed is market niches various sport cars occupy.
To me Corvette FE is a muscle sports car.
ME takes on a new niche. It's just not the same. IMHO

fasttoys

I don't understand why so many on the forum get so angry if the next and only car for the time being is a mid engine Corvette. GM has been talking about this for over 30 years and now they are finally moving forward. Could GM produce another FE in the future, I guess but at this time their FE is not selling. If GM can produce an ME powered by a v8 with a starting price under 69k its going to be a hit. They will have new buyers move in to take the place of those of us not willing to try the change.

Comparing the corvette ME to a Ford GT is not fare as that car was built for the 24 hours of LM race, then turned into a limited production sports car. My manual Audi R8 other than luggage space when comparing it to my manual 15 Z06 was a better car on long trips heck even better in traffic. It was much more comfortable with more shoulder and leg room. It's funny when bouncing from the R8 to the Z06 you realise how narrow the cabin is for your legs and hips. I bet many of the people complaining about a new ME have never owned an ME before.

Anyway I can't wait to have a new ME corvette in my garage. I still love the FE Z but I am embracing the change.

Shaka

Dec. 2012



Tom Peters Aug. 08.

Foosh

And you would lose your argument to the Board and beancounters. It makes no financial sense for a car that needs to be mass-produced and sold in large enough numbers at the right price to retain it's "bang for the buck" advantage.

Even building cars on two entirely different platforms on the same assembly line loses much of the economy of scale advantage because it drives up the price of parts for both. One of the reasons so-called supercars cost so much is that they essentially hand-build so few of them making all parts expensive.

Theoretically speaking of course, GM could copy the Ferrari 488 and probably mass produce that copy for less than half the cost.

I do not think the majority buy Corvettes because of the FE configuration, they buy them because of the incredible performance available at a price that can't be beat. That's the niche, and they'll still have it all to themselves with the ME if pricing is as I expect.

Red67John

yeah, exactly what he said!