From another forum.

http://jalopnik.com/5858683/exclusiv...chevy-corvette

I don't care for the Camaro looking tail lights.

 

Hmmm.....interesting. Way better than the other alleged C7 we've been seeing!

I agree about the rear end....lose the lights and diffuser please. Lights gotta be OVALS!!

The base model will be interesting to see and seeing one in person is always different than any renderings or pictures.

Hard to say if there is a C7 in my future!

 

From the front of the door to the back of the rear fender it looks like a 69 Dodge Charger. I do NOT like the taillights, and the rear window is what?....I just don't know. I wasn't crazy about the C6, but it grew on me. This will not. It's waay to busy looking for my tastes. Kind of remindes me of a rice burner with a lot of bolt-on crap. JMHO. I sincerely hope it does not look like this.

 

rear view mirrors will be even more useless than on a new Camaro.


which is fine. It'll match the Camaro rear end.

 

Well, I dunno, but the proportions are right, many of the styling cues look right so I can imagine this as the next gen Corvette. Much more so than the Sting Ray concept car that some seem to think is the inspiration for the C7.

I agree with the comments on the taillights; they are ugly and they don't make much sense to me on a Corvette. I don't like them on the new Camaro either, but can rationalize that they are reflective (sorry, pun intended) of the Camaro's gages or some such thing.

I can't tell if the side quarter windows are glass or covered in a black plastic (presumably) panel.

Overall, I think it looks pretty good, but if it's still a year away, I wonder if it's going to look a bit dated by the time it emerges.

 

Probably keeps me in my C6.

 

I can't imagine GM would spend so much money, and come up with such a (slight) evolutionary change. They've never taken this approach with the Vette before. I'm guessing that there will still be more dramatic changes.

 

Agreed... GM has been unbelievable in keeping the C7 shrouded. My take is Jalopnic is throwing stuff out there to see if GM will flinch. Or, they're just trying to irritate GM into giving us some morsel while we wait another year.

 

The C5 to C6 redesign was considered so mild by many that the C6 was often referred to as a C5.5. Granted in previous generational changes the differences were often drastic but if the last upgrade is any indicator the C7 may be a slightly tweaked C6 with new styling cues taken from the latest Corvette concept. That doesn't mean under the skin the car will not be much improved or changed to stay current with existing technologies. Maybe GM is listening to everyone complain about how utterly terrible the Corvette interior is and more of the development costs are going here instead where it belongs like powertrain and styling? Then we can all sit in a wonderfully finished interior while the rest of the worlds sportscars hand us our rear ends and wave as they drive past. Wouldn't that be ironic?

We're still over a year away from this car being unveiled and that's if it's not pushed back again. I'm not sure than anyone has ever gotten official spyshots this far out from release for the Corvette. I suspect in the next three months cars in camouflage winter testing will come to light like they did for the C5 and then over the spring and summer additional pics will be snapped as the test fleet grows and grows as development approaches it's peak.

Until I see pictures of the actual sheetmetal these renderings were derived from I think it's hard to say just how accurate this leak is. I recall the early C6 renderings didn't do the final car justice.

 

The comments below the article are interesting reads. Jalopnick seems to say that this is the C7 design although it's pretty common for initial engineering vehicles to get many changes to the body before it enters production.

There is also discussion about this being a mid-engine car; I never gave much thought to that but in one of the 3/4 view pics, if you look at the top of the rear quarter panel above the gas door, there is what appears to be a large vent. Engine air intake? A mid-engine design may be the reason for the car not continuing on with a rear glass hatch similar to the C5 and C6 rear glass. It sure looks like any rear visibility to the rear corners will suck. Maybe that's why the door mirrors look so big.

The Camaro-ish tail lights have to go. They are too small for the size of the rear facia and just don't seem to be a part of the design; more like an afterthought or using some left over parts.

 

Whatever this is, I love it. :-)

 

But even with people calling it a mild redesign, visually it was much more significant than the differences between the c6 and this "c7". Although Porsche's comfortable with very small visual changes, I think GM Still needs the big change to stimulate large first 3 year sales of new models, and justify the large development costs.

Under the skin I wouldn't be surprised to see more of the evolutionary changes. As long as the performance is competitive (which wouldn't take any major changes) it wouldn't hurt sales if there aren't any big changes.

I think the interior will definitely be drasticLy upgraded. GM has done it with their recent releases, and it's the universal complaint from reviewers. Also, LED DTRLs. Pretty much everyone is trying to keep up with the Audis these days!

 

Although it gets discussed every time a new model is being prepared, i have a really hard time believing GM ever will go rear-mid engine. Although there are performance gains available, rear-mid engine cars sacrifice a lot of the practicality that makes the Vette able to sell in the quantities it does. It would take a committment to move the Vette upmarket, sacrificing (relatively) large volume sales, and I'm not sure anyone would be willing to take the risk of ruining the current, successful, formula.

 

Agreed. In order to regain the sales momentum they had through the C5 and the first 4 to 5 years of the C6 something considerably different than the C6 is needed from a styling perspective. This is where the risk is though. The car is sure to perform and run with most any car costing 2 and 3 times as much but it has to look VERY good if people are going to buy it in the numbers GM needs to warrant it's continued development. While Corvette has loyal core of owners like other manufacturer's, it has sold in the volumes it has due to the styling and value GM puts in it compared to the competition as well as an excellent price point. However, I think a larger portion of Corvette owners compared to any of it's competition are willing to look elsewhere though for a replacement to the C6 if it doesn't appeal from a styling point of view despite how fast it is. This is specifically because of it's low price point. Money is more of an object to those spending 30k to 70k for a car than to those spending 100+k and there are more options under 50k than over 100k. Corvette also suffers from a perception issue. A poor perception of quality and reliability despite it's industry best warranty and aftermarket support. Buyers of other high end sports cars are able to garner sales based solely on reputation and status even if some of them aren't wrapped in body work that's as attractive as Corvette or come close to value per dollar or reliability.

If GM carries the new styling to far and misses the mark people simply will not buy it when there are other similarly priced options out there that are styled better. Competition between sports cars was fierce 15 years ago and today it's even more fierce. I'm all for a big change but you have to pull it off. Not just change for the sake of change.

I also agree on the work beneath the skin. Evolutionary is fine and the better choice. Corvette engineering obviously works. It's Ring time's alone prove this. Front engine, rear transaxle 50/50 weight distribution. Maybe upgrade the suspension to coil overs from transverse composite springs. I think eventually Corvette will go hybrid but for now a smaller displacement engine with direct injection pushing a lighter overall car will go a long way. I'm still waiting to see GM release a production ready solenoid actuated valved V8 one day. That would be awesome.

You would thing the interior has to be a given. And yes GM interiors have been winning awards in other cars for the last 5 years. I expect the C7 to really impress here. At one point there was to supposed to be a large interior upgrade to the C6. I think that may have been scrapped when money got tight and GM had to take out loans from the Government to stay afloat. LED DTRL's? What about LED everything?

 

Wonder what they're going to do for a front license plate mount?

 

The engineering would take years to make it "right" and would most likely be expensive to implement. And there may not be another GM platform that could benefit from a Corvette-specific mid-engine drivetrain.

It looks like the 2011 production totals was 13.5K and the 2010 production year was a total of just over 12,100 cars and 16K in '09. Given the average cost of a C6, going to a mid-engine could very well increase the MSRP by a significant amount.

 

Stick it on top of the front fascia with double backed tape. You'll hardly notice it.

 

Oh, yeah, why didn't I think of that? Probably because I don't see any of the C6 population applying that methodology. Might be something to consider. I think I'll reserve final judgement on the idea until I see how effective it is on the C6.

Do you think the tape idea might work if used on the passenger-side sun visor? What about on the headliner? Would the tape hold the plate on the rolling surface of a front tire? I mean at least that way the plate would be visible at least half the time.

You know, have you seen those taxis in Las Vegas with the "tents" on the roof promoting strip cl....well, it doesn't matter, but maybe something like that, but facing forward, might work. Especially with the lighting and all.

Sorry, Keith...

 

If they did this think of all the added benefits. The improvements to down force would be incredible. The Corvette could pick up a lot of time in the corners with this setup while proudly presenting a nice big target for radar and laser at the same time. A win/ win for everyone.

 

Maybe they could do an air brake/license plate holder. As soon as you see the cop, the plate flips up to slow you down, and show the plate, so you're legal! Just like the spoiler on the Bugatti, but much cheaper!