GM5778

Who wouldn't be interested in a C8 variant of a Porsche GT3 RS/ Lamborghini Performante? I mean look at the 488 Pista, it's < 3000#s and 711 HP! Give me a stripped out, no option version and I'd be one happy camper! I don't need NAV, WiFi, BOSE speakers, heated or power anything. Something below 1LT/Z trim. I don't care if it's actually more $ for the stripped track version either. Just get the weight down to 3000#s or less, Recaros, and a third pedal and the C8 would be tops on my list. As of now the move to ME does nothing for me if it's not gonna decrease the weight.

JerriVette

I agree and believe the c8 z51 fe4 1lt is the vehicle to buy ...

im sure you mean more extreme yet this model variant tends through the generations does the trick for me.

lightweight, focused and fun...

NAH801

I completely agree. The trend of getting heavier and adding horsepower to compensate needs to die. The cars may be getting faster but you're putting more and more stress and wear on parts when they have to move around more weight. Less weight also makes it so you don't have to drop insane amounts of money on power adders because your power to weight ratios are easier to achieve. The C6Z06 got it perfect and they really need to go back to the lightweight formula. Imagine with todays tire tech, suspension engineering, and a mid engine chassis what Corvette could do.

Jeff V.

Based on how many porked up C7Zs GM sold, I doubt we'll be seeing this any time soon. But I agree with you guys. I'd love to see a Corvette Superleggera.

oregonsharkman

Add another voice to the group - The trend towards more gadgets , heated and cooled seats and mirrors, 10 speaker sound systems, and heavy padding and leather is nice for a GT cruiser, but I would love to see a stripped down (think Ferrari F40) track focused mid engine car.

jimmyb

I think GM could do this and have it be successful if it was done right.
First, announce you're going to do it, and limit it to 1,000 cars. Allocate it to the best dealers, PRE-sell it for $130K, boom...done...
Look at the GT2RS

jefnvk

I don't disagree, but two things:

1) I doubt you'd see a manual return stricly for such a package, especially considering if one is buying it to track, they're probably going to want the DCT.

2) A big problem with killing the touchscreen interface is that numerous interfaces now run through it, requiring a bit of engineering to keep your base systems working.

That said, there is indeed a lot of glut that could be eliminated. Mustangs have offered track pack delete options for a while, why Corvette never did it was beyond me.

JerryU

I've been speculating that the extra room in BG could be used for (in RR parlance) "sidings or spurs" where they could build the Luxury version, the Andy Pilgrim "leaked" FWD hybrid version. Perhaps another "Spur" could do what up to now required outside shops or dealers like Nickey Chevrolet or Yenko Chevy.

Want forged wheels, sticker tires, need more cooling, roll bar etc- all could be added or "standard stuff removed!

SIDEBAR
Reminded when our plant did not want what was called the SCO (Special Customer Order) department so took it over in marketing. Expanded the offerings to whatever was needed, like installing primary 3 phase wiring with whatever length was specified with the plugs used by the fabricator. Testing assembles and labeling all connoting wiring plugs that go together with colored tags making less work or chance of errors by the fabricators plant maintenance folks. You name it we'd do it and since it was done off-line it did not interfere with normal production! Increased sales and was very profitable Added an engineer to the department so we could tackle about anything. None of our competition would do that!

Jeff V.

McLaren has no problem keeping a touchscreen in their Senna. GM could do it and keep the weight down, but the question then becomes cost. Part of the reason the Corvette is so affordable is because of parts sharing with other GM models. You start doing specialized parts, and the cost goes up.



On the topic of the Senna, it's got it's own version of a PDR. Theirs includes interior and multiple exterior cameras along with all the performance data. It's pretty cool. It'll be interesting to see if GM adds anything to the PDR for the C8.

jvp

This has been discussed, ad nauseum, here and other places. The simple explanation that folks just can't seem to grasp is that IT WON'T SELL! Not in the numbers GM needs to make a viable business case for it. GM knows this, too. They know there's a small, vocal minority in this little teapot called the Corvette Forum that insist that the track-focused, super-lightweight, de-contented model needs to be built but won't actually buy one.

Yeah, that includes the folks in this thread. Once you see the price tag for it, you'll balk and walk away. Further, when you start de-contenting the Corvette, it means you're ordering less stuff from your suppliers in total, which means the other models get more expensive to build. Guess what!? That means all of the other cars' prices go up, too. Or the track-only version gets even more expensive to cover the costs.

The Corvette sales volume is epic... for a 2-seat sports/GT car. It's not Mustang epic. Nor Camaro epic. Folks need to stop pointing at those two cars and saying, "But... but... but... THEEEEEEEY do it! Why can't Corvette?"

It won't sell. Full stop.

L8ter

Hit the nail on the head.
GM is not stopping the assembly line to make a half dozen track cars.

kozmic

Simple solution, strip it yourself...

TXshaggy

How’d that work for the LS7 Z/28...probably can still find a new one; epic fail.

Jeff V.

At a glance I can find 9 for sale, ranging between 46 and 70 thousand. The ones on the high end are super low mileage speculator cars. I wouldn't exactly call that 'epic fail'.

You can't even drive a COPO Camaro on the street, and they sold every single one of those too.

GM doesn't even have to build the 'race' Corvette. They could ship partially completed cars to someone like Lingenfelter or Roush to do the final assembly of any specialized parts. The additional cost to GM would be minimal.

rgregory

A fixed roof light weight version would be awesome.... but the issue is they designed the frame for topless driving which is what ruined the C7Z compared to the C6Z in terms of weight.

KnightDriveTV

I agree that GM could do it, especially with a pre-marketed limited production car. If you can sell pumped up Callaway 757's, you can sell a lightweight track car, given the visibility of Corvette Racing and doing a race track debut, like they did the "driver series" of Grand Sports.

GM could damn near parts bin a lightweight "weisach" style package car, nearly right now it seems. The problem isn't a lack of a business case, it's the fact that certain leadership in GM ain't got the "Zora" in them to build anything with some *****. Tadge gave an interview once I heard, and when asked about a manual transmission going away, he responded that "one day we will all laugh about having a little stick in the car to move around". If that's the case then I assume we will all laugh about the little ring to steer it too?

Tadge has done a good job but...I feel like he's soft.

GM will never be Porsche...that's all there is to it. GM builds trucks and econobox's....and Corvette is only alive because a small few fought to keep it alive along the way. If they can't make a "business case" for the C7 track car (which seemingly they had a mule for even), then getting one in C8 ain't happening. Sometimes it comes down to who you have to make the case to...and that's likely the problem...douches.

Jeff V.

We never did find out what this thing was supposed to be.

jvp

What you believe, and what's actually fact are two different things. You're making broad assumptions here, and you're basically wrong on all of them.

The problem is, absolutely, and 100%: "business case". It's just not there. There's no getting around it. The cars just won't sell in the volume that GM would need to justify the cost. That is: business case. It has nothing to do with "parts binning" the car; it has to do with the costs involved in NOT ordering the stuff that they put in the rest of the cars. Also, if they go all out and start stripping stuff out of the car, they run the serious risk of hitting something that requires redoing the government crash testing. That's more expense, right there. If they change the weight too much, it may affect the city gas mileage, too (in a positive way, maybe). More testing. More money.

Of course GM could do all of these things. Easily. But you're going to pay for it. And so am I. And so is every other Corvette buyer. There's no reason for GM to go all-in with a track-only version when 10-20 if them will be sold each year. People say they want it; in truth they really don't. GM can't (and shouldn't be expected to!) build something that will only win magazine races. They need something that actually sells.

TXshaggy

You missed the point of my comment. GM built a lightweight track focused Camaro, for the large part they sat on dealer lots for a long time. 2-3 years later new ones could be still be found. In the end they chopped 1/3 of the price off and moved them. Were some hard core Camaro fans happy—-undoubtably. Was it a commercial success, not IMO.

Because you found a few online for high ask only speaks that a few hard core enthusiasts see value, what they’ll eventually sell for who knows. Regardless, GM isn’t in the used car business.

COPO is a limited series for NHRA sanctioned racing, that they sell a few every year has no bearing on this topic.

vndkshn

I agree with jvp here, while on the surface there is a "demand" for a stripped out track version, it just won't sell in the numbers GM would need to make it worth the trouble/expense. Most of them will end up like COPO (and Z/28) Camaros (and dare I say, ZR1s), purchased by speculators to sit in a garage in the hopes they go through the roof in value. And even the COPO Camaro is a bad example, those were stripped out drag cars built for racing. Only see a handful of people racing Corvettes.