Kirk Bennion, the exterior design manager for the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, brought the new mid-engine sports car by the Cleveland Institute of Arts last week to show it to students and talk with them about the design process for the vehicle, along with his position within General Motors.
Bennion graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1984 and was eager to show off his latest creation to current students at his alma mater.
“It’s great to see all the energy and enthusiasm that the students have for the car,” said Bennion to Cleveland news station WKYC.
Dan Cuffaro, industrial design program manager at the Cleveland Institute of Arts, was just as excited as Bennion to have the C8 Corvette on display at the school.
“It’s a huge opportunity for our students to see our graduates working hands-on with an American icon in the Corvette,” he said.
The C8 Corvette Bennion brought by the school was rather unique, with Torch Red exterior paint, the optional high rear spoiler and dual full-length Sterling Silver racing stripes. It also appears to feature the optional Z51 Performance Package – evidenced by the front splitter.
Bennion also revealed that Chevrolet has received 37,000 orders for C8 Corvette thus far. It may take a while for Chevrolet to fulfill that rather significant backlog of orders, though, as the UAW strike pushed the start of production back from December to early February. Bennion expects the car to hit dealership lots in February as well.
All C8 Corvette Stingray and Convertible models feature a 6.2-liter LT2 V8 engine that makes 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque with the optional Performance Exhaust. The only available transmission is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. Prices start from just under $60,000 USD.
Hear what else Bennion had to say about the C8 Corvette in the video embedded below.
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Source/screenshots: WKYC
Comments
Was it just a one day event?
This is the first photo of the tall option win on the car I have seen.
So Kirk Bennion is responsible for one the greatest disappointments in automotive design since the Jaguar XJ-S. It’s got the fake blanked out “window” C-pillar from the CT5, the black plastic gaping maw from the 2019 Camaro refresh, headlights and tail lights that look out of date before they’re put into production and more pointless creases than a Toyota C-HR. GM styling is nullifying the achievements of GM engineering.
So Kirk Bennion is responsible for one of the greatest disappointments in automotive design since the Jaguar XJ-S. It’s got the fake blanked out “window” C-pillar from the CT5, the black plastic gaping maw from the 2019 Camaro refresh, headlights and tail lights that look out of date before they’re put into production and more pointless creases than a Toyota C-HR. GM styling is nullifying the achievements of GM engineering.
The design reminds me of a ’06 Ferrari 360 Modena. That’s not a good thing.
So, how do you really feel about the car?