The new mid-engine Corvette C8 is a highly impressive machine, offering head-snapping good looks, big V8 power, and a very competitive price tag. We’re still pouring over all the specs and info that dropped at the debut in Tustin, California, but there’s one critical bit of info that’s still up in the air: the 2020 Corvette top speed.
“We still need to test that,” GM President, Mark Reuss, told reporters at the 2020 Corvette debut last Thursday attended by GM Authority.
Of course, we find it a little odd Chevrolet has yet to find out what its latest world-challenging mid-engine sports car will do flat out. Chances are that a top speed figure does exist internally, but it has yet to be finalized. Though to be completely transparent, we doubt the top speed figure is all that relevant for most buyers, and is instead something to brag about.
Boiling it all down, there are five basic factors that will determine the 2020 Corvette top speed, the first of which is horsepower. The new C8 Stingray rocks the naturally aspirated 6.2L LT2 V8 mounted just behind the cabin. The eight-banger doles out as much as 495 horsepower at 6,450 rpm and 470 pound-feet of torque at 5,150 rpm with the optional high-performance exhaust.
The next most important thing is gearing. Sending those roughly 500 ponies to the rear wheels is the M1L automated dual-clutch eight-speed transmission. Although Chevy didn’t announce specific gearing numbers, it did say that the seventh and eighth gears were tall to “make for easy long-distance cruising with low mechanical stress and excellent fuel economy.”
Vehicle weight is another critical factor in the 2020 Corvette top speed. Luckily, we already have that in hand: 3,366 pounds for the dry weight spec.
Aerodynamic drag also plays a major role in determining top speed. Specs on this front are spotty at best, but we do know that the C8 offers a front splitter and two-piece rear spoiler that push the Vette into the pavement with as much as 400 pounds of downforce. While great for cornering, more downforce also means more drag, which lowers the average top speed.
The final piece of the puzzle is the tires. The standard Stingray is equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport ALS rubber, while the optional Z51 Performance package adds in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. We were unable to locate specs on the Pilot Sport ALS compound, but we do know that the Pilot Sport 4S comes with a (Y) speed rating (186+ mph).
Put it all together, and there are still quite a few unknowns left to uncover. And even with a complete spec sheet, numbers on a page mean nothing until someone actually tests the 2020 Corvette top speed in the real world.
Until then, let the speculation continue. And to provide a little baseline, here are the Corvette C7’s various top speed figures, per model:
- Base-model Stingray: 187 mph
- Stingray with Z51 Performance Package: 186 mph
- Grand Sport: 181 mph
- Z06: 205 mph
- ZR1: 212 mph
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Comments
Well. The new Corvette C8 is more powerful than the previous C7. Unfortunately, detailed important info about C8’s body weight is not available yet. IMO, C8 should not be heavier than C7. That plus a mid engine layout, DCT, dry sump lubrication should make C8 outperform C7 in all areas. However, I read that C8 is bigger and heavier than the average nid engine European and Asian cars. Im addition, info about whether C8 has an automatic launch control system is not available either.So, I would not take the C8 to the dragstrip to compete with the likes of Lambo Huracan or McLaren 720s just yet 😉
The average mid engine European and Asian cars also does not start at less that $60k… A lot of those vehicles use carbon fiber in the vehicles structure
195-200mph
I’m going to guess 194-200mph top speed.
Alex/GMA is anybody going to post the story about the potential Corvette sub-brand with an C8 based sedan/SUV that’s been rumored?.
What’s with the downvotes?. The C8 sub-brand story is circling around the net, don’t get mad at me for it though IMO it’s a good idea…
The C8 is a different car from the C7. As time passes we will slowly find out that we can not compare the two. As we learn more about the C8 we will see that they have less in common with the C7 than they do with other super cars.
Would need to know how the aerodynamics compare to the c7.
Agree on it being a bragging rights thing. As someone who has done over 170, I hope I never do it again.. it was really stupid of me.
Same here. It took only 140 in my 1969 Corvette tri-power 400 hp 427 with the cowl-edge of the hood flapping like a bird trying to take off to satisfy my top speed urge. Many years later I stumbled onto a Coefficient of Drag chart and discovered that the sleek-appearing Stingray T-top coupe in fact had a CD of .43 (a barn door is a 1). Recently I watched a few minutes of a NASCAR cup race, and telemetry displayed for one car showed it going 203 mph almost routinely. That’s with a 700 – 800 hp 358 c.i. racing engine built by Ford, Chevrolet or Toyota, pushing a 3400 lb body. Meanwhile, Cadillac and Dodge have both advertised on TV that they have cars capable of 200 mph. Just call me a wuss, but I love watching somebody else driving those speeds while I watch from my sofa.
Chevrolet info. 2006 Corvette Coupe, Z51 package, 364 cu. in., 400 hp, 400 ft. lbs. torque, weight 3179 lbs., top speed 186 mph. Fun to talk and speculate on this new Corvette! Performance numbers, detailed pricing, road tests, etc. yet to come. And of course production plans; limited number per year, by order only, or with some to stock plus orders as done in the recent years.
Weight has little to do with top speed (within reason of course). Weight has a much more affect on acceleration. Top speed is much more dependent on aero (as the article suggests; i.e. downforce, etc.) Also, gearing is quite important, as top speed is bested when the max h/p is being produced at the highest gear which can be used (meaning top gear, in this case 8th may not provide the highest number). I’m willing to take my lumps if what is stated above is not totally true (though I believe I am correct).
I too believe you are correct.
Yes I would buy a Corvette. I never ever thought I would say that one day and I’m 76. It’s so beautiful. But I did buy a 2019 at4 monster Sierra, I’m getting it this week from a Montreal Québec dealership. Thank you Mary Barra for changing GM around.
Can’t wait for the first road test between the 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette and the 2020 Ford GT; magazine editors have about 4-6 months to decide on which road course to hold their first head-to-head match up
The Ford GT is more of a race car….Trust me it’s not a car that you can drive everyday….very uncomfortable….nice to look at, proud to own however you would not want to take one on a road trip!
It’s all about overcoming wind resistance and that means lots of horsepower. Why speculate when the best is yet to come.
Everyone is ignoring frontal area, which is critical to determining drag. The “drag coefficient,” which I’m sure is relatively low, must be multiplied by the area of the “hole” the car has to punch in the air. I could be wrong, but those rear flanks look fat. And those intakes protruding ahead of the flanks don’t look all that slippery.
With that said, I would expect 495 hp to take the car north of 190 mph. And I expect it to be a helluva lot more stable than earlier cars (e.g. C4) that would get “light in the rear” around 170 mph.
Where is the six speed tranny for all the sport car people ?
Ferrari abandoned manual shift transmissions years ago, followed by other supercars, for more than one reason, but in the competitive high performance arena, one cannot compete successfully without a cutting-edge automatic transmission. I agree with Paul about loving to shift manually, but manufacturers cannot afford to degrade the performance of a brand by catering to a handful of purists, plus the added expense of building a manual transmission to work with a mid-engine platform. What you could do is build a campaign via social media and snailmail petitions to Chevrolet to offer the option outlined in this Motor Trend article: https://www.motortrend.com/news/mid-engine-2020-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-c8-manual-stick-shift-theory/
Real sports cars have real paddle shifters like this car has…..time to come into the modern era in sports car…..I like to shift as much as the next guy….however cars like these are a ball to drive if you know how to use paddles (think formula one cars)
Looking forward to Corvette Racing to produce a C8.R as the racing version and putting it to test in the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race.