Jump to content

GM Unveils Mid-engine Vette....Sort of


Anthony

Recommended Posts

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2019/04/12/chevy-corvette-mid-engine/3444877002/

 

Quote

 

The nearly mythical mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette made its first public appearance as General Motors CEO Mary Barra and ‘Vette chief engineer Tadge Juechter tooled about New York City in a leopard-print camouflaged version of the sports car that’s launched a thousand rumors.

Expect camo-free photos and at least some technical details July 18, at a location that’s TBD, but should be easy to find: Follow the whooshing sound of every auto writer in the world panting.

 

232654b0-9ea7-4241-8c45-adfd8a29bf6c-Nex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just read an article that the final c7 will be auctioned off in June.  

 

So the rumors about the front engine sticking around with a mid engine were wrong.  It will only be a mid engine for c8.

 

Unless if course the article is wrong. 

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/last-front-engined-chevrolet-corvette-004500041.html

Edited by blwnsmoke
Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, blwnsmoke said:

So the rumors about the front engine sticking around with a mid engine were wrong.  It will only be a mid engine for c8.

If that's true (and especially if the price jumps dramatically) we'll see a lot of Corvette faithful losing their minds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, akirby said:

If that's true (and especially if the price jumps dramatically) we'll see a lot of Corvette faithful losing their minds.

This will be interesting...the Corvette offers terrific performance, but some of the interior trim comes off as chintzy. But the price (compared to many rivals) and performance made that easier to accept. If GM moves the Corvette up dramatically in price, there could be considerable resistance, as there has been with the some Cadillacs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, akirby said:

If that's true (and especially if the price jumps dramatically) we'll see a lot of Corvette faithful losing their minds.

Thats the exact thought I had-there is no way they can really make a 80K mid engine "super" car and make it profitable IMO. I don't think those buyers will buy Camaros either... 

Then again if the electrical and chassis issues are true...maybe they are doing as cheap as possible LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, akirby said:

If that's true (and especially if the price jumps dramatically) we'll see a lot of Corvette faithful losing their minds.

With how Chevy has been pricing products lately, we may see a big pricing jump.

 

---

I'll wait for the full reveal, obviously, but it doesn't look that spectacular design wise from what I'm seeing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like it!

I don't see any reason it should be much more expensive than a typical Vette.  I mean, what's in a mid-engine layout that makes it inherently more expensive than a front-engine layout?  The upfront engineering costs would be higher, but overall, I wouldn't think the end product would be that much more expensive.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, silvrsvt said:

It looks like the current car (well not radically different/improved) with the passenger cell pushed forward. 

Exactly.

That plus NSX plus F-430.

---

I also preferred the C6 to the C7 - I just think the C6s have aged well.  The C7's look cool, but I don't think they'll age well (creasy/angular designs don't age well to me).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am skeptical at 62k starting price. I had heard that the base v8 would be mid to upper 80's. I don't know what to believe right now. So it's base model with have 500 hp and top model 1000. I guess we'll have to wait but if this has super car performance it's going to cost money. But I could totally see GM selling this at a loss this year and raise the cost 10% year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, fordmantpw said:

I like it!

I don't see any reason it should be much more expensive than a typical Vette.  I mean, what's in a mid-engine layout that makes it inherently more expensive than a front-engine layout?  The upfront engineering costs would be higher, but overall, I wouldn't think the end product would be that much more expensive.

Well the transmission alone cost quite a bit more then a standard Automatic for one.

Plus how about this-if GM wants to get rid of the stereotypical buyer-why not raise prices to keep it out of reach of them and still sell roughly the same each year and a larger profit on them?

Current Corvette goes for $55K to start with...I don't see any issue with them raising the price to $80K to start and a fully loaded out Hybrid/TT Zora going for double that. $80K is still "affordable" for something like this-heck I think the new GT500 will brush up against that no problem. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The C8 will start in the $60's.  GM just spend a lot of money improving their Bowling Green plant where they build the Corvette.  They need the volume and pricing it north of $100k will not give them the volume.  Most Corvettes sold today are at the lower price levels even though they can go over $130k.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, rmc523 said:

Exactly.

That plus NSX plus F-430.

---

I also preferred the C6 to the C7 - I just think the C6s have aged well.  The C7's look cool, but I don't think they'll age well (creasy/angular designs don't age well to me).

Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  But I can tell you as an owner of a C5, C6 and C7, the C7 has aged the best and even 5 years after it was introduced it garners far more attention and thumbs up then either the C5 or C6 did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they continued the front engine version, was this going to be the c8 as well or still c8?  We have not seen a c8 front engine running any of the streets.

 

So this then leads me to believe they are done with it just like the article I posted said.  Why would they auction the last 2019 c7 z06 at auction if it was continuing for 2020?

 

If the front engine c8 was even existing, we would have seen them in prototype version by now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...