Earlier this week, lead Corvette engineer Tadge Juechter stopped by Autoline Daily to talk everything and anything Corvette with host John McElroy and Automobile Magazine editor Todd Lassa. In the interview, Lassa suggested the mid-engine Corvette we saw a mule of and have been hearing so much about might actually be a Cadillac, and elaborated on his statements in a recent op ed published on Automobile’s website.
In the interview, Juechter brushed the mid-engine Corvette rumors aside, saying “no such car exists.” It’s hard to believe him considering we’ve already seen a pre-production mule for the car, however Lassa’s suggestion that Cadillac has a mid-engine supercar in the pipeline would explain the existence of the curious test vehicle.
Current Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen has also gone on record to say the company should “look at one or two sports cars that you buy for emotional reasons, not for practicality, but because they’re so sexy and fun to drive,” so you know it’s on his mind. More convincingly, he also told Fox News a halo performance car “will come” eventually, but said holes in his product portfolio will prevent it from arriving very soon.
Another point to consider in regards to the mid-engine mule is that the current C7 Corvette is only in its second model year and is selling like hot cakes. Would Chevrolet really be working on a mid-engine car so soon after releasing one of the most well-balanced, fastest and best handling Corvettes ever? It’s hard to say so early on, but we don’t fault anyone for having their doubts.
Very few people know what secrets were leaking beneath the body work of the mid-engine mule spotted earlier this year, but we assume they’ll come to light eventually. We’re convinced it’s a Corvette, but in this case, it wouldn’t be all that bad to be proven wrong.
Comments
Could still be a mid-engine Chevrolet, just not under the Corvette banner.
This is another thought that I had, if Chevy was to make a mid engine Corvette, it wouldn’t exactly be a Corvette. But at the same time, I couldn’t imagine a Corvette without circle taillights either. It would be interesting to see if this car did end up becoming a Cadillac though, if GM was to make an “end all” type of car, it should be a Cadillac.
This may just be how they do it. Kind of like the Alpha Cadillac’s come first and then the Camaro.
The trickle down may be to the benefit of Chevy as Cadillac will spend money on things they would not and leave Chevy with more refined platform when they get their turn. The higher price at Cadillac with low volume will help recoup the cost easier too.
I would not be surprised if the Corvette guys are already doing much of the work on this car even if it is a Cadillac.
Another smart move if this is what is going on. Nice to see GM not get the cart before the horse like they used to do.
Note if and when Chevy does a mid engine Corvette it will be a Corvette and it will be a Chevy. You are not going to pry that way very easy.
Can we say Cadillac SSC V!!! 😉
No, we can’t, pronounce it easily. But, we might more easily say Cien.
Smart move if released as a Cadillac then a Corvette, make the exclusivity of this car to the premium brand then let it trickle down. Like the new huracan lambo is going to basically be the next gen R8, release the higher end car first and let the real big spenders have the glory lol then the big spenders can have it a year or so later.
Cool. The Caddy doesn’t need to be competing against the Vette anyhow. We know how that would go.
My biggest concern with this mid-engine talk is price (and after the ELR, that’s something that should be on the minds of everyone at GM). There’s certainly room for a Corvette above the Z06 now, and in the future, but the base Vette’s price needs to be kept within reason. Right now it’s really pushing it. Now if they can build a better car and keep the price down, great. If not, I don’t think it’s wise to mess with a formula that’s working quite well.
If Cadillac wants to go that route with a mid-engine supercar I’m not going to complain (even though few of them do anything for me). But I would personally rather see them build something along the lines of a Z4–something sexy and fun vs. over-the-top and exotic. If it were feasible, they could can the ATS Coupe today and start work on an Alpha Z4 competitor. I think a car like that would do more for Cadillac’s image in the long run, if it were executed right. (Two guesses as to what sportscar has my attention these days.)
You do that people will accuse them off dressing up a Corvette or Camaro. You make it mid engine and it will be uniquely Cadillac.
To me this is the only thing that makes sense. A mid-engined low volume supercar selling somewhere in the low $200’s should only be a Cadillac. It shouldn’t trickle down to Chevrolet, that would just dilute the Cadillac version.
On of the reasons Cadillac suffers in terms of brand perception and prestige against the likes of Mercedes and BMW is that it’s products are viewed as simply dolled up Chevy’s. And realistically they pretty much were and are.
They aren’t dolled up Chevys, save for the XTS and ELR, even the SRX to an extent.
However I do agree that the mid-engine should be exclusively Cadillac. Imagine the sexy things a mid-engine layout can do to the art & science design language.
A mid-engined $200000 Chevrolet might sell well initially due mostly to the novelty and rarity but that will fade fast.
Consider the Nissan GTR and Viper, they came in with huge fanfare and significant sales but both are now struggling. I think part of that is asking customers to plunk down over $100000 large for a Nissan and a Dodge.
Part of reason for spending that kind of money on a vehicle is knowing that everyone knows that you spend that kind of money.
A person in the market for a high performance exclusive 2 seater would rather see a Porsche, Lamborghini, Mercedes or Ferrari in their driveway rather than a Nissan, Dodge or Chevrolet.
Not so sure about that, Viper is its own brand in the same way Corvette is. You may have a point about the GTR, at least in America, but it has a pretty passionate following, though most of them probably can’t afford it.
The Viper maybe it’s own brand but that is not helping their sales (760 units in 2014 ).
The GTR has a passionate following yes but their sales are not much better ( 1436 units in 2014).
Both vehicles hover around the $100000 mark and have very small volumes.
It makes sense for a car of this caliber and price range to be a Cadillac. Personally, I’d like for it to be a more luxurious alternative to the Porsche 911 GT3 or of some sorts.
Watch and expect them to do a Lambo/Audi like program where both cars will share a platform but not the engines and or much else. Both cars will have their own flavor.
The man who did that at Audi is running Cadillac now.
Yeah Scott3, I can see that also and they do have to spread out the development costs with higher volume.
The Audi executive connection is probably telling in that regard.
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