Community Question: Is A Corvette SUV A Good Idea?
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A recent op-ed published by Hagerty has put a question that we’ve previously asked ourselves back into our minds: what if General Motors were to produce a Corvette SUV?
This would, of course, be sacrilege to any Corvette enthusiast, but it wouldn’t be unheard of for a sports car manufacturer. In fact, it would be par for the course as far as today’s performance brands are concerned.
Lamborghini and Porsche already have SUVs on sale in the way of the Urus and Cayenne, respectively, and Ferrari is working on its own sport utility called the Purosangue. It’s not just the Italians and the Germans, either. Chinese automaker Geely is also bankrolling a Lotus-branded SUV and Aston Martin has its own in the works called the DBX.
It’s not far-fetched to think that GM, looking on as all these performance car brands cash in on the crossover craze, may have volleyed the idea of a Corvette SUV around a board room once or twice before. After all, the Corvette is America’s sports car and there’s no market that buys more SUVs per capita than the USA. It could be a match made in heaven – though Chevy would risk peeving off the purists.
Lamborghini Urus
Surprisingly, GM seems open to the idea. Hagerty requested to speak to an executive for its op-ed piece,
and while the automaker didn’t play ball in that regard, it did refer the publication to an older article from The Detroit News featuring fan-made Corvette SUV sketches. In its email, the automaker also noted the newspaper said that “everywhere we went, car fans loved the idea,” of a Corvette SUV.
Rumors allege that GM plans on selling the front-engine Corvette C7 and the upcoming mid-engine Corvette C8 alongside each other – although it’s not yet clear if this is entirely accurate. If this were the case, it would essentially have a lineup of Corvette vehicles. That could give it another reason to expand the stable even further to include something for the daily commute or for the consumer with a family.
Let us know what you think of the idea by voting below.
Source: Hagerty
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A Corvette subbrand similar to what Denali is to GMC was rumoured before 2008, and had that gone though the next gen Solstice/Sky Kappa II platform likely would’ve spawned a mini Corvette. And the midengine likely would’ve been on the road by now. The C7 is sticking around for a bit and who knows if a FR platform Vette will continue on along side the MR so two Corvettes will be on offer.
That would have put 3 very different cars each with a wide range of trims under the Corvette brand.
That’s what needs to happen before you think about offering a crossover. Right now it would be better for Cadillac to hurry up and offer some Vsport crossovers.
10 years ago, I would have said a firm ‘no’; that the Corvette name was inexorably tied to Chevrolet as its premier sports car.
Today, I’m a little more receptive to the idea of the Corvette being its own brand, independent of Chevrolet, and free to chart out its own course in performance vehicles….but I’m still on the fence.
The money would be good though, but it would take ages to unhook the name ‘Corvette’ from being stickily a Chevrolet property and to move it upwards as a brand.
It may have worked somewhat for Dodge and what became of its Ram, but I don’t think the general public has fully embraced and understood the difference between Dodge and Ram. I still catch myself saying ‘Dodge Ram’, and by and large, people know what a Dodge Ram is even when you say it in error.
Did everyone see yet ANOTHER Red Chevy Blazer article on GMA again today? Yup, repeating this because the article keeps repeating and serious desperation is setting in at GMA and GM as projected sales for this vehicle. Then again, why buy that Red Blazer RS at a whopping $54,000 U.S. plus when you could own an all-new Jeep Wrangler or upcoming Ford Bronco, which both will hold their value much better?
P.S. You still can’t stop us pointing it out. Removing the ability to comment on the everyday Red Chevy Blazer propaganda in the story is such a sad Communist-style tactic. Thank God the world is moving away from left-wing extremism…
Speaking of desperation….
Man, you get triggered easily.
Actually, you should not think of this as a “new” concept. The SUV of today is the station wagon of the past. The SUV sits higher and has more presumed rough-terrain characteristics than the former station wagon, but really, beyond that there is not much else to tell them apart. With that in mind, at the 1954 Motorama Harley Earl unveiled three Corvette concepts – a hardtop coupé, a fastback coupé and, of all things, a station (estate) wagon (they called the wagon the Nomad). You can read more about that presentation and the cars at:
https://cardesignnews.com/articles/concept-car-of-the-week/2017/07/ccotw-corvette-quartet.
So no, I have no problem with the idea.
To me, that would be a heck no! Unless GM is willing to venture out and make “Corvette” a “brand” on it’s own, this would be a huge mistake. Even if they did make the Corvette it’s own brand, I still think it a bad move. Just my opinion.
Let’s go back a little in history. Does anyone here remember Oldsmobile? Pontiac? Saturn? Hummer? (yes, I know you all do but I’m trying to make a point). GM diluted all those brands so much that they lost focus. Did Pontiac really need a version of a van or the Chevette? As import brands began to become more popular in the USA, it wasn’t just the Big three any more and having such diluted brands was hurting GM. Although I personally felt the pain of seeing such storied brands go down, it had to happen and I believe GM came out better and stronger in the long run. So why go back in time and repeat the same mistakes? Making Corvette a brand alone would only open that door.
Above, Andrew suggests Cadillac bringing some type of V-series SUV out. That may be a good idea. GMC made a truck/suv sport model years ago called the Cyclone (spelling?). Maybe GMC could take on that role again with a high performance SUV. I just don’t see GM creating a separate division for a Corvette brand and venturing into the SUV’s there to be a smart or sustainable plan. Those people most likely would come from other GM SUV’s and NOT from any German brands. I think my biggest issue with GM is that they continue to chase the Germans. Stop! Go back to your roots and build high quality vehicles that are GM and not German or Japanese. I buy American brands because I don’t want a German or Japanese brand.
Or, and this may be a stupid crazy idea, but how about build a performance SUV/CUV and leave Corvette out of it. Build something on merit not coattails. I’d much prefer it to be a GMC anyway. Performance CUV/SUV aren’t going offroad anyway.
Live to dream.. a Chevrolet Blazer with suspension components adapted from the Corvette and composite body panels to drop weight mixed with the LT5 pumping out 750 horsepower and we’ve got a modern interpretation of a Corvette CUV.
Hell no.
First off the. Or Vette is a model not a brand. They do not make a 911 SUV they make a Porsche SUV.
The image and brand of the Corvette is pretty specific.
Second GM is not going to make a specific Corvette SUV at the price point they would enter. Porsche is is already used also as a Audi, VW, Porsche and Lamborghini.
Take a Tahoe install a Corvette specific engine. Let the Corvette team tune the suspension and detail it. Call it a The Tahoe Z(what ever) tuned by Corvette Engineering. Give it a specific Grill and wheels. Add Corvette items to the interior and better seating.
You could add carbon fenders hood etc to cut weight.
With the coming independent suspension it would be a prime time to make such a move.
This would preserve the Vetter as it is while capitalizing on Corvette Engineering like GM did on the GM Performance Division before the foolishly killed it.
Callaway already does something similar now and GM could be doing this in house.
You could do a full size and mid size truck also. Most Corvette owners have trucks so what better to convert to make what they have to have.
With Chevys history of performance they can use it and just use the Vette engineering to enhance the image.
This will keep the cost down profits up even at the low volumes. Let’s face it even with. Or Vette on it you are not going to get $130k out of these like the Porsche.
Should it have the engine in front , middle, or back? The original VW van had the engine in the back, I mean, while we’re copying VW’s own Lambo, R8, Bugatti, with the C8, why not?
Remember this is GM though: Just slap the Corvette logo and some cool graphics on a Tahoe and call it good. It’ll sell like hot cakes. Call it the Z oh something Sport.
I’ve been saying this day one, Vette needs it’s own brand/sub-brand.
The Bowling Green plant is there, IMO 4 Vette models based on the Vette (Stingray-standard Vette, Zora- ME, sedan and CUV). All come standard with 6.2 power with optional PEV and more powerful v8s with an Alpha Impala for more affordable performance/fleet buyers on the lower end.
This makes me sick. The Corvette is an American icon, not a badge that can just be slapped on whatever. A Chevrolet Tahoe with a Corvette engine is still a Chevrolet Tahoe.
I’m with Jake. If the Corvette is truly a Chevrolet Corvette, there’s no reason to create any sub-brands. Leave it as is.
With that said, I would love to see something like a radically styled RWD Toyota Venza. (Don’t kill me with downvotes, I’m just talking exterior proportions. Maybe something a little bigger actually, with a bit of ground clearance.) Think Lamborghini meets Batmobile, Mad Max, and ZR1 rolled into one. Something totally unique and over the top; not like any of the ugly ass “performance” SUVs out there today.
Something this guy would drive on the weekends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IZrYeUX3MI
NPWSBP:
On an unrelated matter, but still important one, whatever happened to all that “Russian Collusion evidence” you were harping on some time ago? You do realize Trump is still President, right? No impeachment, no arrest, still President.
Not a political site. However, I think you need to say “no arrest YET”.
He’s a POS, president or not.
Outside of being able to recognize the color of a lone Chevrolet product, I don’t recall any of what your fingers have farted out here to be related to much of anything, other than your infatuation with a man who applies his own makeup.
As for your comment, troll, let’s pretend for one second the 300 – 400 page summary Mueller submitted to Trump’s handpicked AG cleared Trump, as you say:
Leave Corvette alone. In fact, keep the front engine Corvette along side the mid-engine model…forever! There are enough SUV/crossover type vehicles out there from GM.
This is a hard one.
I think a sub brand would be freaking sweet! Think; Mid-engine Vette, front engine Vette, and areo-wagon Vette.
I worry about a CUV because over time it will become some rebadged Chevy, run of the mill CUV that is related to the Blazer or Traverse or XT5 or Acadia. I think corvette could benefit a bit from a 4 seat coupe, or something like the areo- wagon. A full on, Urus competitor is a bad idea IMO.
You said what I was thinking the best. I love the idea of 3 kinds of Corvettes. Ever seen the GMC ad that uses the rule of 3? There COULD be a Corvette version.
I would never buy one, but everyone else would and at likely at a premium over the car… Lambo did it with that un-lambo SUV and the rich have flocked to it in droves boosting Lambo sales by 51% based on SUV sales in just the second half of 2018. Porsche sells many more SUVs than cars, and 911s are benefitting from all the extra cash and brand recognition.
The Lambo and Porsche SUVs benefit from the sports car brand recognition, not the other way around.
The Corvette is partly a landing spot for former Porsche sports car guys turned off by price. It wouldn’t work how you think. A Corvette brand would be GM cannibalizing that could play just as well at other brands or SS trims.
Cadillac is still the best spot for GM to grow the pie with wealthier people, however hard they think that road is.
Just opinions.
Porsche is selling more sports cars AFTER introduction of the SUVs. Want to check? Go to the annual reports and check production and delivery numbers. And porsche benefits from better audio-video-UI development coming from the rest of the investment. This is why Aston Martin uses a mercedes interface in their newest cars.
Steve Jobs once said that if a company is not willing to cannibalize its own products, someone else will. A corvette SUV would be different than a blazer SS and would argue grab sales from porsche cayennes and land rover evoques, etc.
Porsche, Lambo, etc doesn’t sell sports cars because they have sedans and CUV. Get your heads out the 80s. Sedans and CUVs bring in the money for the performance coupes.
Omegatalon:
Except we got the sad excuse for a Blazer in the new 2020 made in Mexico plastic crap iteration. No amount of red paint and plastic RS badges will change the fact that the new Blazer is dead on arrival and will require massive rebates to move it pretty much like any new GM vehicle these days.
Not a political site. However, I think you need to say “no arrest YET”.
He’s a POS, president or not.
Without doing this, Corvette “the car” will not survive.
Sure, just what the world needs…another SUV! Why not make it a split window? I don’t think the SUV craze is going to last long once gas starts to get expensive again and people just get tired of them. The Corvette (I own a ’69 that was bought new) is and always has been a sports car. To add an SUV in the mix is just being trendy and unnecessary IMHO.
NO, I think the Corvette should remain a stand alone force.
Now the Idea of a Tahoe/Suburban SS sporting a Corvette power plant tuned for more torque and a set of brakes and suspension to handle that would be AWESOME! Similar to the Trailblazer SS. The Cross Flags on the front fender and lift-gate to ID the Heart of the beast. If you do it, do it right and take the Trailbazer idea to the next level.