After decades of prototypes, speculation and hype, it’s finally happening: the Chevrolet Corvette is going mid-engined. Set for a debut this summer on July 18th, the up-and-coming 2020 Corvette C8 is poised to storm onto the sports car scene with an all-new platform that breaks from seven generations of tradition, marking a pivotal moment for the nameplate. And that brings the question: why, exactly, is the Corvette switching to a mid-engine layout?
Before we answer that, we should review what “mid-engine” actually means. Essentially, the term describes where the engine is mounted in relation to the front and rear axles. A mid-engined car places the engine centrally between the axles. By comparison, a front-engine layout – like the one used in the previous seven generations of the Corvette – places the engine closer to the front axle, while a rear-engine layout – like the one in the Porsche 911 – puts the engine closer to (and sometimes over) the rear axle.
A mid-engine configuration is generally considered the ideal type of layout for a high-performance vehicle such as a sports car. For that reason, the application is used extensively in motorsport and racing. The reasoning behind doing so originates from physics and motion dynamics, specifically as it relates to vehicle balance and weight distribution.
This photo illustrates the vast differences in layout, design and proportions between the mid-engine Corvette C8 (left) and the current, front-engined Corvette C7 (right)
Now, the single heaviest component in a vehicle is the engine. Where in the vehicle the engine is placed determines a lot about how that vehicle will behave in various driving scenarios.
When the majority of a vehicle’s heft is placed centrally in the chassis – such as in a mid-engine car – the car’s weight is, in theory, perfectly balanced between the front and rear axles. That creates an even weight distribution front to back, resulting in linear, neutral and predictable handling. Now, the Corvette C7 – despite being front-engined – already features a perfect 50-50 front-rear weight distribution. Hence, one could make the argument that the current C7 is already a “mid-engine” vehicle… and they would not be entirely wrong. But then we would start getting into the weeds of “front mid-engine” vs. “rear mid-engine,” and we would be digressing. So, let’s get back on track.
In the case of a mid-engined car like the Corvette C8, the vehicle will likely place more of the car’s weight toward the rear axle, for something along the lines of a 45-55 front-rear weight split. That additional weight toward the rear end would push the car’s rear tires into the pavement and provide greater amounts of traction, resulting in better grip when applying the throttle, and consequently, quicker acceleration. The extra rear-end weight created by the mid-engine layout also enables the rear brakes and rear tires to do more work under heavy braking, rather than relying on the front brakes to do most of the work when stopping.
Furthermore, a mid-engine layout enables a vehicle to quickly change direction thanks to what’s known as a lower polar moment of inertia. Here’s what that means: when the majority of a vehicle’s weight is located centrally between the axles, the vehicle is more eager to rotate, doing so evenly and predictably.
Think of a slalom test: a car with a high polar moment of inertia will resist quick steering inputs, which means it will be slower through the slalom. Conversely, a car with a lower polar moment of inertia will eagerly slither through the cones.
But not all is perfect with a mid-engine layout. When the engine and cabin occupy roughly the same location, passenger room and cargo space suffer. A mid-engine platform also creates new exterior proportions along with the associated changes in vehicle shape and style compared to a front-engine layout. This is especially noticeable on the Corvette C8 when compared to the first seven generations of the Corvette before it, with the mid-engine car featuring a much shorter hood and a less pronounced, sharklike appearance. Finally, mid-engine vehicles can be more challenging to drive. A chassis that’s eager to rotate can be a joy on the track, but it can also result in unwanted spin if one isn’t prepared, or adequately trained in driving such a mid-engined car.
But all those drawbacks hardly matter with the upcoming 2020 Corvette C8, because the thing is all about performance – full stop. And performance is what the mid-engine Corvette will deliver.
So, the switch to a mid-engine layout for the Corvette C8 will deliver a more capable sports car, with higher levels of performance, particularly in spirited driving applications and especially on the track.
Relocating the engine to the middle of the car has been a long time coming for the storied Corvette nameplate, and will be an affirmation of the model’s rightful place among the best performance machines in the world. This is Zora Arkus-Duntov’s dream come true, and we just can’t wait.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
You mean it wasn’t just to give the jean-short + white New Balance -clad geriatrics heart attacks quicker than their diets of Big Mac’s and Coke Zero already will? Or to take the breath out of boomers quicker than their Mesothelioma from working in a plant their entire life where they earned the right to be entitled to not driving their bare-bones 1/35,000 base model?
“Or to take the breath out of boomers quicker than their Mesothelioma from working in a plant their entire life where they earned the right to be entitled to not driving their bare-bones 1/35,000 base model?”
The people who assemble Bentleys can’t afford what they assemble. While the C8 will not command Bentley money, there is nothing to support your argument apart from impassioned emotional appeals.
The skill of heavy manufacturing does not scale equally with the market price of the goods being assembled. Threading a 10mm nut requires the same level of skill for a labourer irrespective if they’re assembling a Bentley, a C8, or a Mitsubishi Mirage.
For what it’s worth, that’s not an attack on someone who works at any specific plant, but an attack on the mentality of someone who -for example- threads 10mm nuts and only has/had/will thread 10mm nuts for every day of their life from ages 18 to 65 that “knows more” than “dem there en-gen-eers” and hardheartedly believes that “The Corvette should be front engined because it has always been front engined and you are WRONG if you think otherwise” and who believes that anyone who can not only buy a Corvette at an age less than 45 but also buy a something more than just a used base model “doesn’t deserve it” because “they didn’t earn it”.
And at one time, bi-winged aircraft was all the rage, until they weren’t….
What the hell’s wrong with you?
So….
The section on polar moment of inertia is fine. The part about 50/50 balance is hogwash. The C7 already has 50/50 weight distribution. The C8 will be tail heavy, with significantly more weight on the rear wheels, like every other road going ME car. And that’s an advantage: it means better traction on acceleration because there is more weight on the drive wheels. And it means better braking, because the rear wheels do their share of braking as less weigh is transferred to the front wheels.
And you only need to open your eyes to see the engine is NOT equidistant from the front and rear wheels. That would put the engine about where the driver’s elbow is.
Vette owners were jealous of the 911’s that were tail heavy. Now they can claim being tail heavy, even if it is a bit of an overstatement.
But most owners do not drive on the track Many Corvettes are used for road trips therefore how about luggage? My 2018 Grand Sport will hold plenty of luggage. GM need to offer bth front and mid engined models.
Eureka!!!! Damn the racetracks and having a sportscar that can actually, you know, PREFORM LIKE A PROPER SPORTSCAR and keep up with the best of Europe – lets build a plastic-fantastic land yacht to inflate our egos and reassure ourselves it’s okay that we beat up the smart kids that weren’t popular in high school because when we role up to the 25-year, they -in their BMWs and Audis- will be jealous of our Chevy’s!!!!
While we’re at it – I think they should bring back carburetors and leaf springs!!! Know what would make those long road trips even more comfortable – If they got rid of the seat belts and had bench seats!
GM “says” they’ve solved the storage issue. Time will tell.
Love it, the Vette will compare with all supercars at a fraction of the price
The writer should be canned for plagiarism and erroneous reporting
#1 this new Corvette is not a C8. It is the Next Generation as deemed by GM as it has no shared components nor will it be body on frame like all the previous Corvette iterations.
#2 the lower center of gravity and resulting handling advantages have been reported verbatim by numerous other websites
#3 This is regurgitation not reporting
GM execs have referred to it as the C8 on many occasions.
C-8 means corvette 8th addition.
If the engine is behind the front axle (like it is in most Corvettes already) that means it’s already been ‘mid-engine’ for a while? Also traditional Porsches are rear engine not mid-engine because the engines on the rear or a little bit over the rear axle
The RSR is mid-engine.
Are any grown-ups going to comment?
I would settle for some commenters who use spellchecker…
The Corvette has been since 1984 a good performance car for the money. It was at the limits of performance then even with much higher priced cars.
As time has gone on it has gone from a good Sports car for the money to a great sports car no matter the cost. That was a quote from Jeremy Clarkson of all people.
Today the bar has been raised and levels of performance have exceeded the ability of a front engine in handling. GM has already stretched the wheel base as far as they can and if you want AWD there was no place to place it in the present platform.
As for the luggage, the lack of space in the C2 and C3 did not hurt them. Let’s face it the new car will carry enough for a weekend which is all most people will do at the most.
I own a mid engine now and I have easily done weekend trips with careful packing.
The bottom line is the Corvettes prime objective high performance in power and handling at prices half of its competition. It is not a touring car it is not a SUV etc.
What people do with the car is their own choice.if they just want to leave it the garage and just wipe it with a diaper or if they want real track time that is their choice.
The Corvette is targeting a global market and it needs to be on top of its game.
If you want a trunk and a front engine buy a Miata.
i’d buy a miata if it was a proper hard top coupe … sort of like a baby jaguar f-type.
that for under $30K and i think a lot of people would be interested.
it would beat the toyota 86/subaru brz twins.
See ya!
Very short sited. Most people do not do track days. In our club of 260 plus Corvettes only 2 are used for track day s. The majority of the others do a lot of road trips from weekends to weeks. Yes, GM need a mid engined for racing and the exotic market sector but they need a high performance sports tourer for the core market – Ferrari learnt this lesson
Cut the BS most of these guys don’t even drive the car.
I can buy low mile C6 Vettes all day at a bargain price.
Most buy for image and mid engine enhances the image.
Go buy a used C6 with low miles at$20k and be happy. There is so many on the market now it is no wonder the C7 sales stagnated.
As for Ferrari they only sell sports cars and they have to make money some how and not over sell anyone model. That is why they offer more. Chevybis a automaker that sells a sports car not a sports car company.
Few Vettes make weekend trips.
Besides have you seen the trunk Yet? Fitted luggage? Hang around a bit.
I believe mid engine is the closest approach to an engine located near the center of gravity of the car. This should optimize traction on the wheels as well as balance while driving around tracks, minimizing both under and over steering. When that doesn’t happen, motor and different parts of the car will tend to rotate around the common center of mass, which may bring unexpected and undesirable results, all of which affects driveability of the car
I think GM is forging forward with a more affordable and engineering leading mid engine design with the C8. Moreso than Ford is with their GT model, which so far has only béen available to far fewer enthusiasts due to the excessive price tag. Obviously no one knows what the C8 will start at, but rumor has it at being around 70-80k which for the type if car it’s projected to be, will be a bargain for the engineering that’s involved, will make quite popular with enthusiasts waiting for years for GM to make its move and finally introduce this car.
I am 6’5″ tall. I hope the C8 has at least, if not more, leg room than my C7. I also hope that besides a blind spot detector it has some modern safety features like adaptive cruise control
Chevrolet’s new C8 Corvette will allow General Motors to challenge cars like the upcoming Ferrari SF90 Stradale Hybrid a lot easier having a mid-engine layout than the C7 Corvette’s front-engine layout.
But how about the majority of the potential market that does not go on the track?
Very short sited. Most people do not do track days. In our club of 260 plus Corvettes only 2 are used for track day s. The majority of the others do a lot of road trips from weekends to weeks. Yes, GM need a mid engined for racing and the exotic market sector but they need a high performance sports tourer for the core market – Ferrari learnt this lesson
You and the other 257 members or your “club” are what’s wrong with the Corvette brand. If you want a comfortable car to take on a weekend trip – buy a damn Cadillac XTS, gramps.
You said above that you have a GS – why the hell did you buy a track-oriented car to NEVER take it to the track? I’m soooo glad that my taxes are paying your SS so you can afford to not enjoy the car you wasted money on.
Why do you care who buys a Corvette and drives it the way THEY want, over the way you think it should be driven and by what age group? You should be happy that there will be many low mileage easy driven available cars that you can drive around in circles dreaming of that checkered flag, or just obnoxiously over rev in the Burger King drive thru. Enjoy your burger.
ALL WRONG!!!
After reading about today’s CT4-V and CT5-V specs introductions, I can say with a high degree of certainty that the reason the C8 is mid-engine is so that they can install a 3.6HFV6 along with a 6T50 Hydra-Matic transaxle for the drivetrain. The Z06 version will feature a fart can exhaust to provide high-decibel sounds, and the ZR1 model, which will debut six months before news breaks of the C9’s permanent delay, will feature “Blue Flame” emblems adorning the plastic engine cover.
Seriously, I really, really hope GM hits a home run with this car, but after today’s aforementioned Cadillac news, I have lost ALL faith in GM to get anything right.
I haven’t seen anything on the new Vette.. realistically I’m not a vette. person so the change amounted to as much to the effect as of the transgender bathroom swap.. and feels like the kick in the b@@#$ you gave us when the Buick firebird concept was unveiled.. for those who know the late 50’s GMC truck had a Pontiac engine so couldn’t GMC give us some dignity and give the firebird new life as a GMC ? If the Vette turned out anything like the Ford GT there’s no room.. engine noise and heat a transverse mounted engine could open the possibility of awd a straight reverse mount could offer the same also a f1 style sequential transmission in awd then reverse flow heads to pull the air intake from side scoops make the engine boxer design air flow directly to the center of the cylinder the ehaust exits out the top keeping the heat off the block.. could turbo it with ease along with a 5.3 cu displacement and flat plane crank..
Yada, yada, yada………the idiots continue to babble. For those of us who are realists AND Corvette multi-generation owners and restorers, we await the new baby with open arms. BRAVO Chevy.
I would pay extra for leopard paint, but not on a C8.
Because GM is obsessed with everything that Europe does.