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Mid-Engine Corvette C8 Design Team To Speak At Seminar

The design team for the mid-engine Corvette C8 will speak at the upcoming Historic General Motors Design Seminar in Michigan, sharing insights on what it was like to work on the innovative sports car.

The seminar, which will be hosted during the 2019 Concours d’Elegance of America in Plymouth later this month, will be hosted by vice president of GM Global Design, Michael Simcoe. The main event will be the ‘fireside chat’ with former Corvette design Tom Peters, who will talk about his career at GM and the design processes for the various projects he worked on – including the mid-engine Corvette C8, of course.

“Since the Next Generation Corvette features a mid-engine configuration, designers will speak to the unique opportunities and challenges presented by a mid-engine vehicle,” GM said in a statement.

Mid-Engine Corvette C8 - Spy Shots - Exterior - March 2019 006 - Headlights

Simcoe says attendees of the Historic GM Design Seminar “will be treated to unique perspectives and stories from a number of our lead designers.” He and his team will also take questions from the audience, so if you have anything you’d like to ask some of the top designers from GM past and present, this will be the place to do it.

“Concours d’Elegance of America has a long, respected history celebrating the beauty of automotive design, and that’s a history we intend to honor properly,” Simcoe added.

Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Teaser Video 005 XP 882 Aerovette

The seminar will be hosted from 10-11 am EST on July 27th at The Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan. Tickets are available at this link. The mid-engine Corvette C8 is set to make its highly anticipated debut in Orange County, California, on July 18th.

Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette newsCorvette C8 newsCorvette newsChevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

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Sam loves to write and has a passion for auto racing, karting and performance driving of all types.

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Comments

  1. I think there’s too much of Ed Welburn’s influence in this car. I respect him, but I dislike his wedge designs with tiny windows and high trunk lids. I think the C8 design, while definitely a Corvette, represents a huge missed opportunity. The layout of the car is so vastly different, that they could have been more extreme with the design. It’s not supposed to be a volume car and it’s so impractical, the designers could have really pushed the envelope. Heck, the moved the engine behind the driver, the overall design language could have shifted with it! Instead, we get a smooshed C7 in the front, a Camaro at the back and the side vents are interfering with the doors. It could have been SO much more.

    Reply
    1. but if they went all in on the corvette, would that leave enough space for a potential cadillac super car?

      i don’t know if such a vehicle is in the cards but maybe that is the reason and of course price.

      i’m not worried about the front but i agree with you about the side vents and rear. in some pics, the side vents seem to protrude too much.

      Reply
      1. Handicapping your current product so that you don’t hurt your future product is a terrible idea. Steve Jobs talked about how it’s always best to cannibalize your product, before someone else does. Anyway, seeing as this is GM, it very well could be that they intentionally made it hideous and impractical so that the facelifted version in 3-4 years is improved.

        Reply
  2. Will they be behind a curtain and their voices “scrambled”?

    Reply
    1. only the designer responsible for the rear. if that leaked photo is accurate, he should go into the witness protection program.

      Reply
  3. It’ll be interesting to hear their decision of using an updated LT2 6.2L OHV-2v V8 generating 480-500 hp instead of developing a completely new engine.

    Reply
  4. Designers can talk their way out of anything no matter how horrid – lookin at you Corvette back end. Has GM designed anything noteworthy lately? NOPE – and it starts from the top. Remember how the last few years Cadillac will be back – blow your mind – and we get a blobbed out Altima? I am sure the Corvette will be nice – but as many have mentioned – they missed an opportunity to design something iconic and ground breaking. I will never forget how the designers came out to describe the olds 88? as a “creased pant look” – I don’t think even he believe the BS corporate GM made him trot out. A 3 year old could have done a better job than that car.

    Reply
  5. Well There is no Cadillac Supercar as they have not earned the right to sell one yet. Lets face it they have yet to prove they deserve the right yet with the sedans. Once they earn trust and reputation on the cars and small SUV modes for people money they then can build a $180K sports car.

    The XLR failed for a reason and it is time some learned about it.

    As for the styling on the present Corvette you may want to reserve your comments till you see it in person or at least in a clear photo. You may look foolish once it arrives and you are standing there saying as you did with the C7 that it looks much better in person than bad camo photos.

    As for the engine. Corvette has long used the carry over engine in most of their C models over the years. Best example was the 84-85 C 4. Intro was the throttle body and the next year we got TPI. We need to remember that the first year they want to intro the base model for one and two they want to have to deal with the car not a totally new power-train on top of a totally new car. Moving to mid engine is a prime example of playing it smart engineering and marketing wise.

    Your TT DOHC V8 will be here soon enough. Remember this is only the start of this platform not the end.

    As for designing it is all subjective. If it were easy to please a bunch of people online that could not draw a circle then everyone would be doing it. Much of today’s designs are really restricted by crash test, MPG and aero that pits them into a tiny box.

    What I find interesting is the rear of the car has more in common with the Blazer rear but no one complains there about the styling only the name.

    Reply
    1. ah the old “design is subjective” Of course its subjective but it is also objective – since most have horrid taste and the select few have good taste. That is the line. When it comes own I shall bestow my opinion – then again, with Mary Bara running the show, we have already seen the caboose – not impressive in the least. Carry on.

      Reply
      1. So what cars have you designed lately?

        I guess I can understand it from your perspective as the only taste the average Bubba has is in his mouth.

        Reply
  6. Many of the most vocal critics of Corvettes have never driven one let alone owned one. Historically Chevrolet has made improvements with each successive year. The car is under constant development and seems to get better every time.

    When the 1961 came out and they revised one of the greatest rear end treatments of all time people were scandalized. Time has proven that the ’61 & ’62’s are still noteworthy cars. Same with the Camaro rear end on the C7s. This is what Corvettes look like now. It’s grown on me and I’d take a C7 in a heartbeat (pun intended).

    And if the C8 looks anything like the artists’ renderings I’d take one of those, too. Manufacturers do make mistakes (Aztek) but in general they know what they’re doing. At least moreso than the rest of us.

    Reply
  7. Don’t understand the need for speed! My late husband’s 1961 Rambler Classic was comfortable, safe and got great gas mileage. Speed Kills!

    Reply
    1. Some prefer to decay slowly and others would rather live life to the max and risk dying quickly. It depends on your personality.

      Reply
  8. Cool, will John Mack be there? I want to hear his excuse for the laugh out loud ugly 2019 Camaro refresh.

    Maybe Simcoe can expound on how to ruin a truck design, or reminisce about the old days when he designed the bland and boring Pontiac GTO in a way that ensured it’s unpopularity.

    Reply

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