I sense the exact opposite from the OP who seems pleasantly surprised by its design if you read between their lines. Impressed enough to voice curiosity about it in the C8 section as an outsider. In our echo chamber it looks amazing and the best but to the everyday person outside our echo chamber it looks "different" in an eye-catching way. That's what I'm reading here.

Most C8 pictures available to the general public show it in isolation or next to other C8s or supercars. Those photos completely lack perspective of its proportional presence relative to other everyday cars on the road. When I saw my first one roaring down a local street in heavy traffic I was pretty surprised. Felt like it was my first time seeing one despite having viewed hundreds of photos for months prior and in person spinning at the LA Auto Show but spaced away from other cars and elevated on a pedestal. The feeling I got from that first street sighting is probably what OP is feeling despite knowing of the C8 for 4 years.

Photos of the C8 in public among other cars aren't common but I found a few. They give a better perspective on how relatively low, wide, and small it really is which the vast majority of C8 photos online don't capture:

 

I've been a fan of every model Corvette I can remember. Each time they change generations I'm amazed. The C8 does look more European to me, and when I ordered mine I added the body color side and rear trim. To my eye that makes the car look more like the exotics, without the black boomerangs on the sides.

 

If you're waiting for them to change back to the old design, that ship hasn't sailed, it's sunk. I sold Corvettes for over 10 years, owned a fair number, but for the last 20 years I've been done with the old warmed over same old same old, refreshed versions. When the C8 was launched I had to have one. After over three years of ownership I love the car more today than the day I picked it up. After driving it for 6 straight hours coming home from BG, I felt a little sad because I wanted to still go for a drive in my Corvette. Pretty much inked the deal I have the right car.

 

At least my E-Ray Wannane doesn't cost an annual Personal Property tax a Ferrari SF90 would! $525,000/$120,000 x $1500 I expect to pay year 1 = $6500! Won't get much cheaper years 2, 3 etc as doubt the Black Book value our SC PP Tax is based on will hold value.

My Build has body colored "boomerangs." Agree think it looks better with Cacti. Interior Artemis.


. IMO the E-Ray Looks Better!

 

Unless of course it's made in cat puke green.

 

FYI, the C1 was GM's attempt to capture market share dominated by British roadsters after young vets returned from WWII with money to burn amidst the manufacturing innovation boom that resulted from wartime production. Corvette's origin story has been to be a knock-off European sports car since inception.


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I would argue with your "knock-off" wording. The idea was not to make a "knock-off" which is a copy. It was to make a car of their own design in the segment made up of European roadsters.

 

Exactly, plus no GM car has lost all electrical functions while driving like the British cars. Lucas, the prince of darkness.

 

As 22c8z51 said, Chevy had pretty much reached the pinnacle of what the FE-RD platform could achieve. I imagine it would have been very difficult if not impossible to add an AWD system to the C7 design. I spoke to a man much more knowledgeable about Corvettes than I and he said the same thing. By becoming a mid engine car the design of the body had to radically change. What would have been the alternative, adding 3+ feet to the rear of the C7?

I personally love the design of the C8 and couldn't care less what critics refer to as an "exotic or European wannabe". The fact that the entire corvette team designed and built a car of this caliber at the price point that it is, is to me nothing short of amazing. We're entering the fifth model year of this design and while I've had my '23 for only 14 months I still get asked if it's a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, still have people taking pics of it and have had several little kids ask to have their pics taken with it. When that happens I have them get in and stand on the seats so mom and dad can get really good shots of them.

 

The proportions of a mid-engine car are what they are. You can't really make a mid-engine car look like a C4 with a long hood and short deck. So an ME Corvette is bound to resemble mid-engine European cars to a large degree.

And as much as I like my C7, I think it looks old fashioned compared to the C8. The C5 and C6 even moreso. Older models look "Wow" because of their history and the period design as much as anything else. The C4 was largely hated when it came out, and almost everyone seemed to like the C2 better than the C3, at first.

I recall a bunch of Corvette owners I know saying the didn't like the C7 when it came out. Probably 2/3 of them own one now.

 

Remember the Twin Brothers who lived near me that were stationed in Europe in the Army. When they got out they brought matching 1954 4 cylinder Healey's!! Liked them BUT I was into drag racing and Hot Rods! Have remained a fan of both!

 

That was the whole idea, so the designers thank you. You are looking at a $65,000 car and thinking it is one that costs 3 to 4 times that. Job done

 

Yeah it's hyperbole or oversimplification. I say the same about Fiero and MR2 vs Ferraris of their era. C8 is the closest thing to a 458 with the engineers fessing up to it to some extent. Different ways of communicating the same general idea, though not literally accurate in a strict sense.

 

I'm so happy they came up with this design.
First one I really liked since 1971 and earlier models and worth it to me to spend my money on.
(And obviously that's my opinion, everyone has their own taste in cars. Nothing against others who have different likes,)

 

Yes, GM did a good job of making a design that shows the lineage of Corvette. The first time I saw the C8 during the reveal, I was expecting it to be unrecognizable. But it looks like a Corvette.

 

Design by committee. Some of the pre-production renderings were better, imho.

 

All the comparison photos above look nice, showing how well the C8 looks, BUT, where are the *** end photos? IMO, that's the biggest design failure of the C8. Most media photos avoid showing the back of the C8 in comparos for a reason. While one can objectively say that the front end looks very nice and "exotic", the rear end is just, bad.

 

Yep the cars I sketched in boring classes in high school looked better! But they were not very functional! BTW, none of those in Math or Science!

IMO the best looking ME was the 1967 Ferrari 330/P4! But zero storage space and the passenger would complain abut their cramped space!

I have several, albeit mine are small! Also have an original water color and a modern art pic bought at Laguna Seca Vintage Races when Ferrari was the featured marque. The cutaway is from the Shell Series by James Allington.

 

I love all vettes. When the C8 first came out I thought it was ok. Didn't do much for me. I spent the day at Corvettes at Carlisle and never saw so many C8's. I left Carlisle saying to myself-- WOW, I need to get one of these. Maybe some day.

 

All I know is it is one sexy ^#%@. Everytime I see one on the road, I am like "DAMN!!!! Is that what my car looks like?!?"