Designing the seventh-generation Corvette (or C7) was no easy task. On the one hand, GM designers wanted to stay faithful and pay homage to the past; on the other, they wanted to do something new and innovative, while delivering function and elegance.
No matter what you think of the completely redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the fact remains that the all-new Vette’s exterior was designed, shaped, and sculpted for high aerodynamic efficiency as well as aggressive and audacious looks.
“Developing a new Corvette, while every designer’s dream, is not an easy task,” said Ken Parkinson, executive director of global design. “The goal was a bold design statement that embraced the advanced technology of the car, while enhancing its overall performance in everything from the wind tunnel to the track. The result is a new Corvette Stingray – a fantastic car that breaks new ground yet remains true to the fundamental elements that make a Corvette a Corvette.”
While no design details were carried over from the previous sixth-generation Corvette, the all-new seventh-generation model still retains a profile that’s distinctly “Corvette” — particularly exemplified by the long dash-to-axle (D2A) ratio and a greenhouse that elicits memories of a fighter jet canopy. In fact, designers relied on two different sources of inspiration for the new Vette: aerospace and nature.
“That visual impact is evident in fighter jets and the Stingray animal itself”, said exterior design director Tom Peters. “Their beauty comes from their purpose, designed to cut through air or water as quickly and efficiently as possible. As with aircraft and living forms, every transition on every surface of the Corvette Stingray serves a purpose executed with beauty and proportion.”
The Details Are In The Lighting
Immediately following the C7’s huge intake, or the maw — as we like to call it, is a core element of the C7’s design: lighting, which serves to reinforce the Corvette brand’s high-tech theme. The front light clusters house frosted indirect white light-emitting diode (LED) daytime driving lights that portray a distinctive daytime styling cue; these LED lamps are set in a black-chrome lamp housing and join standard high-intensity discharge (HID) projector headlamps and edge-lit LED turn signals. All elements are complemented by an embedded Corvette logo at the top of the light cluster.
Centered between the high-tech headlamps is the evolved Corvette emblem, which features a pair of crossed flags, while immediately above the Corvette logo is a curvaceous carbon fiber hood with a functional air extractor (more on that later); the light hood joins a removable (exposed) carbon fiber roof to enhance the front/rear weight balance of the car.
As with the C6, the roof is attached to a pair of blacked-out A-pillars, which look awesome with a high-contrast color (like red). Also present are door-mounted wing-style mirrors and finessed curves running throughout each of the C7’s two doors.
But it’s in the back that things start to get really interesting: adorning the rear is a set of all-new dual-element tail lamps showcasing the greatest departure from tradition, according to GM. The dual-element rear tail lamps provide an austere and aggressive appearance, with a three-dimensional, sculpted lens housing and indirect LED lights.
One little-known aspect about the C7’s rear lights is the way in which they are illuminated: the lights use hidden LED lamps that cast their light up from the bottom of the housing into a reverse reflector, creating an even glow. Even the white backup lights are illuminated by LEDs.
Aside from the entire rear end, it will most likely be the C7’s four shiny exhaust pipes that will be seen by the countless drivers the Vette will pass as it zooms down road all over the world. Four big, wonderful, beautiful pipes.
“From the front or rear, the signature lighting brings the new Corvette to life,” said Peters. “It looks beautiful, sinister and more than a little intimidating. It gives the Corvette a nighttime appearance unlike anything else on the street.”
Functional Design Not Just For Show
But the exterior of the C7 isn’t just about showmanship, as it is a statement of function and aerodynamics. Think of it not as a body builder, but rather an athlete who can accelerate, cut, and brake — all while looking sexy.
Engineers spent a significant amount of time on predicting and tracking airflow over, under, and through the Corvette’s body; much of this time was spent in the wind tunnel hand-sculpting surfaces for aesthetics and performance. The team also incorporated several principles learned from the Corvette Racing efforts in the American Le Mans series to help balance front and rear grip for high-speed stability — showcasing a pristine example of track-to-street carryover.
Highlights of the Vette’s functional exterior include:
- A new grille/radiator arrangement and hood vents are standard on all models. These elements vent air out of the hood to reduce total front-end lift for improved steering response at high speeds.
- Front fender side coves assist in venting under-hood air pressure to reduce aerodynamic drag. These are immediately followed by Stingray badges on the fenders.
- For models equipped with the automatic transmission or the Z51 Performance Package, a functional vent on the driver’s side direct air over a heat exchanger to cool transmission fluid; on the passenger side, a similar arrangement is used to direct air over a heat exchanger for the electronic limited slip differential.
- You may have even noticed the small diffuser-like pieces on the outside of each rear taillight. These aircraft-inspired elements serve as outlets for the available differential and transmission heat exchangers, as do the air outlets located on the lower rear fascia.
- Models equipped with the Z51 Performance Package include brake-cooling ducts, a unique rear spoiler, and additional air deflectors for enhanced track capability.
“The team delivered a great balance of low drag for efficiency and performance elements for improved stability and track capability – all in a sculpted design that excites in all the ways that a Corvette has for six decades”, said exterior design manager Kirk Bennion.
In fact, the extensive aerodynamic work can be most appreciated at higher speeds. According to Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, the faster the C7 is driven, the better it feels.
So, while every inch of the 2014 Corvette’s exterior is designed to enhance high-performance driving, the vehicle retains an aggressive, muscular, and bold appearance that’s also refined and dynamic — a feat very few designers have been able to achieve. It’s because of this that we here at GM Authority like to refer to the C7’s design as “controlled aggression”.
Perhaps GM CEO Dan Akerson put it best the week before the unveiling of the C7 when he said that the 2014 Corvette Stingray is “the most beautiful car ever made”.
The Colors
The 2014 Corvette will be available in ten colors upon launch, including:
- Arctic White
- Black
- Blade Silver Metallic
- Crystal Red Tintcoat
- Cyber Gray Metallic
- Laguna Blue Tintcoat
- Lime Rock Green
- Night Race Blue
- Torch Red
- Velocity Yellow
Stay tuned to GM Authority for GM news and subsequent deep dives of the 2014 Corvette, coming later this week.
PS: a special thanks to Steven Pham for some of these great photos you see here before you.
Comments
This car is so awesome, it may be the best Corvette ‘evva. Love the perforated holes in the exhaust pipes, reminds me of the original Bat-mobile exhaust. Front looks like a ’57 Vette (Google it).
The LED side marker lights in the wheel arches are pretty cool as well! Nice Touch GM!
Greatest Vette I have ever seen in Production!
I can see the aftermarket making those chrome toothed Grille like the 57 and Corvette SS for it too!
Absolutley LOVE those Tail lights!
1NJIMID8TOR I think those are reflectors, not side marker lights.
So are the Corvettes, the red one and the cyber grey one the pictures of the post a regular Corvette or Z 51 Performance package models? The spoiler in the back? Is that unique to the Z 51? It seems slightly confusing As it doesn’t state which cars are pictured the Standard Corvette or a Z 51 model.
The grey is the “standard” Corvette. The red one is with the Z51 package. We will clarify the difference between the two in an upcoming Deep Dive.
Will there be a spoiler delete option? It looks clunky and spoils the rear fender lines as a tacky “add-on.” Will there be (like Posche offers) a “paint all scoop openings body color option” to make all those gee-gaws blend in with the body? The car looks cheap with all those black plasticy looking slots and holes. Will there be a ” front grill option” to remove that awful looking “braces retainer” chrome crossbar from the grill? Do these simple changes to smooth out the car and this boomer will be there, check in hand. Underneath all that tacked on junk is one gorgeous car…
Having just spent lots of time (early show entry enabled) checking out the C7 at the Detroit show, I must say, it is a beautiful job, a worthy successor to the Stingray of old. Congratulations to the GM design team.
To nit pick, I really don’t care for the little chrome grill bar, as it looks added-on and cheapens the front view. At least they didn’t hang a “bow tie” in the middle of it. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the front facia is so reminiscent of the form of the ~1957 Corvette SS race car that I wonder how long it will be before someone puts the grill “teeth” in one.
Observing the lines of the actual car, my eyes kept coming to the area near the top of the fender vent or “cove” treatment. The character line coming forward from the top of the rear quarter is deliberately misaligned to be below backward-sweeping, character line from the top of the vent. To my eye, this breaks the continuity of the design. It makes it look like a structural weak point, much like the Viper fender vent makes it look to me like the car could fold there if vertically pressed. That must be the engineer in me speaking, I guess.
In any event, it is a beautiful car, as is the Cadillac version of the Volt. I would like to see those designers do a new Buick Riviera, worthy to succeed the 1963+++ version. Please make it rear drive/all wheel drive with optional power to match the CTS-V, so all the good looks won’t be for nought!
Joseph, the C7 is indeed beautiful. But I don’t follow your description of the weak element/point in the design… could you elaborate on that?
In regards to a high-powered Buick coupe, I really hope that GM does not pursue that project. Over the last few years, Buick has been headed in the right direction by pricing comfortable luxury vehicles that don’t focus on high performance (Regal GS excluded), leaving that segment to Cadillac. A considerable opportunity exists in continuing to pursue that same strategy, as Lexus is pretty much leaving that market to Buick (and Lincoln).
Alex, I didn’t say a weak element in the design, or even an actual structural weakness. What I mean is that the design discontinuity strikes my eye as a structural discontinuity, which it certainly is not. It is, however, a discontinuity of styling elements, which would not exist if the character line running aft from the top of the fender vent blended continuously into the character line that sweeps to the top of the rear quarter. In your photo gallery , the picture showing both the C7 and the 1963 coupe, row 11, column 5, best shows the discontinuity of the two character lines on the front fender. Would it look better if the two elements were merged? Maybe yes and maybe no.
Joe
Joe — thanks for the follow-up. I understood what you meant in regards to the structural vs. design discontinuity/weakness, but just didn’t phrase my reply appropriately.
To make sure I understand, are you referring to the line that comes off (the top) of “the cove”, and then is followed an inch or so by another line running up toward the “hip”, as seen here:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/01/deep-dive-the-exterior-design-of-the-2014-chevy-corvette-stingray/#foobox-1/53/2014-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-c7-53.jpg
If so, I see your point, but don’t really see how that could be interpreted the way in which you’re describing… but hey, I’m no designer.
Yes, those are the lines I meant. If the character line from the top of the vent/cove were to be one continuous sweep into the line running back to the “hip”, the design discontinuity I mention would not exist. They would form a single design element, not two different ones as they exist.
Joe
Joe — chopped this up really quick. How do you like this?
http://gmauthority.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2014-Chevrolet-Corvette-modified-side-character-lines.jpg
Alex—Not bad, for the wee hours of the morning! Actually, you did a really nice job. That’s exactly what I meant. The design elements now integrate smoothly, and the whole design flows nicely from front to back. The design theme is unaffected.
Just for grins, can you make the “A” pillars red to match the body? I’d like to see if it looks good or not, even though I do like them in black.
Joe
Alex–Respectfully, I totally disagree with you on Buick’s need to have a new Riviera, or its equivalent. Having grown up in the GM dealership managed by my father, and having sold Buicks, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and GMCs for many years, I can say for certain that Buick desperately needs a “halo” car to bring people into the dealerships. Their current crop of “aero-blob” eco-cars will never do it, nice vehicles that they are. My wife’s awd LaCross is a wonderfully smooth and quiet car, comfortable to ride in, and totally devoid of excitement of any kind. All of the current Buicks are old peoples cars. To be successful in the long term, they need to get people into the dealerships; they would often come in to see the Riviera and, needing family transportation, buy one of the other lines offered. Brand and dealership loyalty must be encouraged, starting with young people, especially those affluent enough to buy somewhat upscale.
My recommendation would be for a new Riviera coupe, plus Riviera sedan, a la the CTS coupe and sedan, rear/awd, with top V-8 power available as with the Cadillac V series’.
The first Riviera was in 1949, a 2-door. for 1950, Riviera 4-door sedans were added. This situation persisted through the 1958 models; from 1959 through 1962, all Rivieras were 4-door cars. All those cars were versions of the standard Buicks. The two door and four door hardtops were introduced as Rivieras and sold hugely well.
The 1963 coupe was the first really unique Riviera and drew in people in hordes. We sold lot of regular cars to people who came in to see the Riviera but needed something more practical. The need for a new style/performance leader is dire. My observation at the Detroit show kast week was that Buick drew far less floor traffic than most other makes I visited. The cars were nice but not exciting, the reps from Buick were knowledgeable and highly personable, but the cars had no pizzazz.
Having personally retailed Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, and Buicks, I can say that there are many people who won’t buy a Chevrolet, except a Corvette, but who would buy the upper level car I sold. The same is true at Ford, where some people won’t buy a Ford, just because it is a Ford, but will buy a Lincoln. Image is the key. Today there is a huge gap between the Chevrolet and Cadillsc. Without Oldsmobile, and now without Pontiacs “excitment”, there is nothing to fill that market gap. There needs to be some exciting Buicks.
Anyway, I am not calling the shots.
Joe
Hello, Alex Luft- I think the design of the new the 2014 Chevy Corvette is sensational, updated to modern line, greatly improved the interior that was his weak point, and with skin surprisingly, the most sophisticated suspension will certainly make a better balance all fall.
The engine issue I think should have the base 500hp, 450hp are good with direct injection that will make a better performace, and with its incredible exhaust sound I love.
The colors I like The Blue Lagoon is amazing wow¡, I would buy that color with varying intensity, in the rays of the sun. I recently saw a video on Youtube of 3 Vettes in Michigan and one of them fell in love with blue color, the other 2 were one Red and Black. I think that lacking Black Granite, Green not understand why if offers, if green is not fashionable. Yellow is new right? Also missing Purple, but the range is really good and the fascinates me.
Adrian