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GM Should Make A Race-Spec 2020 Corvette C8 For Weekend Warriors

The new 2020 Corvette C8 breaks from tradition as a true mid-engined sports car, placing the naturally aspirated 6.2L LT2 V8 engine just behind the cockpit. The new configuration allows the C8 to run circles around its predecessors, offering quicker acceleration and improved handling, all while placing the Corvette nameplate among some of the best supercars in the world. This thing is made to go fast, but its true potential can only be found on a racetrack. Naturally, a special, competition-ready version of the 2020 Corvette C8 makes perfect sense.

Granted, Chevrolet already unveiled the outrageously awesome Corvette C8.R, but we’re not talking about that. We’re talking something for folks who have day jobs, the kind of people who spend their spare time (and spare cash) at the race track. We’re talking about a race-spec C8 for the weekend warriors out there.

The essentials are already there, and it wouldn’t take much to make the 2020 Corvette that much racier. We’re imagining a stripped-down version of the coupe we already know and love, something that tosses any notion of road civility out the window net. No air conditioning, no carpeting, no sound deadening.

Also, add in a roll cage. Make it lighter where possible, throw some sticky race slicks in the corners, and add more sound out the exhaust. Harder suspension wouldn’t hurt, neither would beefier cooling systems. Add racing harnesses, racing seats, fire extinguishers, and the like.

It sounds like the perfect formula for road racing. In fact, given the C8’s popularity, a full-fledged dedicated race series doesn’t seem totally off the mark.

This wouldn’t be the first time General Motors has done something like that. Back in 2012, GM built a competition-ready Opel Adam minicar and announced a new one-make race series called the Opel Adam Cup, framing it as an international rally program. What’s more, the tiny racer was also used in the Astra OPC Cup racing series in Germany.

So then – a race-ready 2020 Corvette C8 for weekend warriors. Anyone else with us?

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. If it is the C8.R that is up to Pratt and Miller. They build the race cars. I would rather they are not distracted.

    For SCCA or other series the base Z06 is the car being used and depending on the class rules it varies the way it is built.

    Just build a lighter weight car with delete options and let the owners finish as needed.

    Ferrari does one but it is for a Ferrari only series. No need for that as it gets little coverage since there is little media on single car series.

    Reply
    1. It wouldn’t be a C8.R, so P&M shouldn’t really need to have any involvement in this. Cars like these are efforts driven and implemented by the manufacturer… it’s essentially a Stingray with some features and interior trim stripped out.

      The media coverage and/or any attention to the actual series is a small part of the equation here… the bigger part for GM will be utilizing underutilized plant capacity (which will be the case in the latter years of the C8’s life cycle) to build cars with a higher margin than the “regular” C8. GM wins by selling a decontended car for more while keeping plant capacity high, and the customer wins for getting something they want to race.

      Reply
  2. They need to work out the handling quirks first – it’s OK up to about 8/10ths. I agree it’s too heavy (and too expensive for most people) to be a pure track car. It’ll go through consumables very quickly. I think it needs to lose about 500 lb.

    Reply
  3. I agree with this. Ferrari, Porsche, Nissan, Jaguar do similar things. I Canada anyway we have Ferrari Challenge races, Porsche GT3 Cup Canada races and Nissan Micra cup races. Needless to say that a Ferrari Challenge car or a GT3 Cup car are not super cheap whereas the Micra cup cars are. There’s a large void that could be filled with a spec C8. Not a C8R but something that comes from the factory pretty much ready to go, ideally with little interior comfort and added safety features.

    I think it could be a cool series and more obtainable than a Ferrari Challenge or GT3 cup presumably.

    Reply
  4. Reports say that Chevrolet’s C8 Corvette first year production is sold out which means any thoughts of building any additional C8 Corvettes will need to wait for the 2021 model year while aftermarket car tuners like Hennessey Performance which has already announced a 1,200 horsepower C8 Corvette will be building weekend warrior capable C8 Corvettes.

    Reply
  5. Jonathon Lopez is a moron. He seems to have forgotten the misera le sales of the C6R.S by either katech or Pratt & Miller….. if a boy racer wants a boy racer car, let him build his own. If the facgtor-optoioned cars don’t meet his discriminating needs, then he can spend his own money. Stop looking for handouts.

    Reply
  6. GM could easily send the Corvette from Kentucy to Katech with a list of options and send to a dealer near you to pick up. Monitor the build and shipment. aka, the 1998 – 2002 Camaro SS from SLP. They sold a lot! Some dealers created their own with 650 N/A hp wide bodys.

    Today’s tech, 1200 HP is easy with enough money. Price out different HP and chassis stages. Heck, add decals.

    As long as you got the money…

    Reply
  7. Still waiting….

    Reply

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