With the first examples of the all-new 2020 Corvette now finally in the hands of enthusiasts, some owners are ramping up build ideas and modifications, with some adding twin turbochargers, and others adding a healthy shot of nitrous. However, boost and laughing gas is nothing compared to what YouTuber Rob Dahm is cooking up, with plans to yank out the mid-mounted, naturally aspirated LT2 6.2L V8 in favor of a four-rotor engine.
While the proposition of a rotary-engine 2020 Corvette might seem outrageous, the idea actually harkens back to the late ‘60s, when GM’s Lead Designer, Bill Mitchell, dreamed up a mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette concept with a four-rotor powerplant dubbed the Aerovette. Dahm was inspired to create a modern version of the concept using the new C8.
Although the YouTuber originally planned on acquiring a brand-new 2020 Corvette for the build, he ended up purchasing a wrecked C8 that was totaled after just one day of ownership after it was hit by a drunk driver. On his way home after buying the new project vehicle, Dahm makes a few stops as part of an “apology tour” to explain the forthcoming rotary engine swap.
Dahm’s first stop is at Holley HQ in Bowling Green, Kentucky, after which he visits NCM Motorsports Park for a few hot laps in a non-wrecked 2020 Corvette to see what it should feel like when pushed to the limit on a racetrack. It’s a great way to set some baseline expectations for the upcoming build, and Dahm is obviously enthralled by the experience.
Afterwards, Dahm heads over to the National Corvette Museum to see some of the history behind the 2020 Corvette, as well as all kinds of interesting Corvette factoids and tidbits.
Are you excited by the idea of a rotary-powered 2020 Corvette? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, and 24/7 GM news coverage.
Comments
There will be tens of thousand C8s. No one should have to apologize for engine swapping a totaled version of a regular production model. It’s a classic hot rod project. I’m anxious to see the finished product.
I would like to find out what production numbers are on the Corvette and when will it be ramped up. I own 3 and have a 2009 CTSV that set their record at the Texas Mile at 213.6.
What is he standing in front of ?. It looks like a refined version of the Aerovette. What ever it is ,it is really sweet and I would buy it in a heartbeat. A very balanced design.
The red one shown in the video still is the 1973 XP-897 GT. There was a whole series of wild mid-engine Corvette concepts for a number of years.
1964 CERV II
1968 XP-880 (Astro II)
1970 XP-882
1972 XP-895
1973 XP-897 GT
1976 Aerovette
1986 Corvette Indy (possibly my all-time favorite automotive design)
1990 CERV III
Wish I could include pictures because they are all works of art but my favorites are the ’76 Aerovette and ’86 Corvette Indy. Both directly inspired my love of vehicles. I have been fortunate enough to see most of these in person and up close at the GM Heritage Center.
YouTuber Rob Dahm should be able to get at least get $25,000 for the engine, drive train, and possibly the exhaust system, as it has virtually no miles on it., but he may have to spend nearly that much, if not more, to repair the car back into as-new shape. With the UAW strike and the COVID-19 shutdown, it’s not likely GMs OEM manufacturing partners had much time to build up tons of parts to supply the assembly line, let alone the Chevy dealers parts departments
I myself wouldn’t trust the repairs that even the best Chevy body shop In the country could perform, at least this early in the production run. With the C8 being so new it’s unlikely any of the bump shop guys have any real-world experience in making repairs. The repairs would quite likely turn out probably looking like the first 50 to 100 pilot cars off the assembly line – only 85 to 90% perfect, with misaligned body panels and suspension pieces.
If I were YouTuber Rob Dahm, I would take the wrecked car and tear it completely apart, selling off all the good pieces, individually, using a GM replacement parts pricing catalog s a guide, and sell them for about 10-15% less, as they are so close to new. It’s quite possible that he could actually get more for the parts than he paid for the entire wrecked Vette. Then wait a year, or so, when the first 2020 models are being dumped by their owners, and pick up a nice, low mileage Vette that has taken the depreciation hit, and do the engine swap on it. At least the used C8 would presumably be a running car, with all the pieces it had when it came off the assembly line, and the owner would only have to concern himself with the engine transplant.
What is the advantage of using a rotary engine vs. the stock 6.2?
Lighter weight
Lighter weight
Wow, putting an obsolete, impractical, dead-end engine into a modern Corvette! Why didn’t I think of that? How about steam power?
Sixties Guy – Give the singer a chance.