Photos Illustrate Differences In Mid-Engine Corvette Design vs. Current Generation
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A recent crop of spy photos shows just how different Chevrolet’s mid-engine Corvette C8 will be from its front-engine (technically, front-mid-engine) counterpart, the Corvette C7. The two very-different iterations of Chevy’s iconic all-American sportscar were spotted side-by-side recently near Germany’s famous Nürburgring motorsports complex, and the resultant photographs allow us to take a good, hard look at how the proportions and styling sensibilities will evolve as the car enters its eighth production generation.
What’s most obvious from looking at the photographs is the extent to which GM’s designers are shifting to a more cab-forward silhouette with the all-new mid-engine Corvette. This makes sense, of course, as the engine will be located behind the driver for the first time, allowing the front section of the car to be shortened while the rear portion necessarily grows longer.
Consequently, the front wheels will move a bit rearward, closer to the A pillars, as they no longer have a front-mounted V8 to sit mostly ahead of. Yet the front and rear overhangs appear to be about the same length on the mid-engine Corvette as on the current C7-generation model, which will for the most part maintain the car’s classic sportscar proportions.
But disappointingly, as much as we hate to say it, the forthcoming mid-engine Corvette appears to have more visual weight than its mid-front-engine forebear, mostly as a result of losing the C7’s long, sleek hood and gently-sloping hatch stretching nearly all the way back to the rear edge of the car. Such is the price of performance, we suppose, but we will miss the C7’s classic, sporty FR silhouette.
Some of the more minute differences between the mid-engine Corvette C8 and the front-mid-engine C7 include a different wheel design, where the C8’s are directional, and closer to a true five-point star; an exhaust system with four tips split into two pairs, rather than the clustered four-tip design used currently; and most notable of all, big side air inlets positioned behind the doors to feed fresh air to the mid-mounted V8 engine.
The all-new, rear-mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8 is expected to bow in 2019 for the 2020 model year, making real a long-held dream of Corvette enthusiasts everywhere: that America’s iconic sportscar be given the sort of rearward weight bias and low moment of inertia it’s always deserved.
Stay tuned for all the latest mid-engine Corvette news, right here on GM Authority.
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c8 looks dated so far.
Your can see all that through the camo huh?
What drug(s) are you using for that and is the trollin lyfe hard?
Dude, everyone on this site is a GM fanboi. No need to insult those of us that think the C8 design is not appealing. There are MANY renderings out there that have done a great job modeling the car without camo. It indeed does look dated right out of the gate. I think the side vent is grotesque and the car appears quite tall. I showed it to an older guy recently and his first comment was, “not for me – looks like that old honda NSX.”
Doesn’t mean I don’t want a C8.
I hate to say it, but the proportions look ‘off’ on the new C8, especially compared to contemporary mid engine cars like the Ferrari 488, Lambo Hurrican and Adventador, or the NSX.
It’s too long in the ass and could use some taper in the rear corners well.
Definitely prefer the C7, although I expect the C8 to be the better driver.
check out the mclaren speedtail that everyone is fawning over. talk about looooong ass.
i wouldn’t mind if the back end was a little longer. it seems like all of these mid-engine cars have the same proportions. so if the c8 tweaks that formula and stands out a bit more, i’m all for it.
but please, get rid of that spoiler/wing. make it deployable.
Yeah, I saw the Speedtail and just could not see what the bid deal is. It’s literally a rehasg of the old auto union steramline cars as well as the long tail 917, and even one of the Aero Vette concepts had the same look.
For me personally, something about the new C8 is just a little too “generic” and angular verses chiseled and dynamic like the current C7.
That said, the C8 racer is AMAZING! I don’t get how the race car is so right but the street car isn’t. Maybe it’s the bigger flares and truncated rear on the C8.R? The cab seems to be more ‘mid-ship’ and not so forward as well. With styling it’s always the most details that separate perfection from ‘meh’, or even ‘that’s ugly’.
i agree with you but i’m holding out hope and reserving judgement until the production version comes out.
i hope gm doesn’t follow the same path as the camaro … a car that is dynamically brilliant but falls short when it comes to aesthetics when compared to the mustang.
i’d be more than willing to trade seconds on the track for a c8 that is beautiful to look at inside and out.
Agreed, no matter how much we hate to admit it, just like with women – looks and curb appeal damn near trump everything else.
I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t believe you.
Tell us how you really feel.
Not sure how you hate it since you haven’t seen it, and have no idea what the specs are, but hey, don’t buy it! That’ll be one less person in line in front of the rest of us!
the corvette race team has a lot of input into the C-8 design because they know what they need to compete aginst the ford GT and other mid engine cars on the race track
Aggressive is the word that best fits the C8 Corvette as it looks like it’s ready to do battle with the best in the world while the C7 Corvette sort of reminds you of the late Hugh Hefner and a bit lay back look.
It will probably look fine, but I do not like the high beltlines that GM designers are so proud of these days. It makes their cars look boxy and heavy from the outside and makes the driver feel like he’s sitting in a bunker.
Well the high belt lines are more a sign of the times rather than GM styling. ALL modern cars suffer from this.- yes, even the Mustang and Challenger.
Increased safety standards are mostly to blame.
High belt line? Larger greenhouse! What do you want a performance car to look like a pope mobile?
These are super cars, that are not supposed to be comfortable and plush! They are supposed to be fast!