In GM Authority‘s latest side by side design comparison, we’re looking at two vehicles which share the same nameplate but represent (very) different generations – a 2021 Chevy Corvette C8 Stingray and one of its immediate predecessors, a 2019 Corvette Grand Sport. For the sake of simplicity, the C8 pictured here is the car with the Accelerate Yellow Metallic paint, while the C7 is the one painted white.
Although they are both low-slung high-performance coupes, the designs of the C8 and C7 differ in many ways. There are two major reasons for this. One is that the C8 is the first mid-engine Chevy Corvette. The mechanical parts are of course hidden from view, but the very different location of the engine compared with the C7 has an inevitable influence on the exterior design.
The other is that auto design in general evolved in the six years between the introductions of the two models. As we will see, the Chevy Corvette C8 has styling elements which might have looked fussy back in 2014, but are more familiar today.
This is immediately obvious even from a restricted, road-level view of the two Corvettes’ front ends, as shown above. The C7 has a single air intake of an almost quadrilateral shape, though in fact a tweak at each lower corner means that it is in fact six-sided. By comparison, the C8 has three lower grilles covering a much larger area. The largest of these, in the center of the fascia, is separated from those on each side by diagonal lines which move inward and upward from the bottom to the top.
The C7’s hood has a pronounced bulge in it to clear the top of the V8 engine, translating to very pronounced levels of surface development. This is not necessary – and was not retained even for styling purposes – on the C8, whose engine resides several feet behind its location in the C7.
The driving lights on the C7 predominantly run along the lower edge of the headlight units, but kick up as they head toward the sides of the car, creating a hockey stick pattern. Meanwhile, each headlight on the C8 has two sets of driving lights / daytime running lights, one running along the top inner edge and another that takes a much shorter and almost vertical route on the outer edge. Also notable is the contrast in size of the Corvette logos on the two cars – large on the C7, considerably smaller on the C8.
From a side view, the changes that Chevrolet was obliged to make to the Chevy Corvette design due to the different mechanical layout become very obvious. In the C7, the passengers sit very far back, due to the position of the engine up front and nothing of comparable size behind it. The car, therefore, has a very long hood and “cab-rearward” proportions in comparison with the C8, which has what was once called a ‘cab forward’ look because in this case the engine effectively pushes the passenger compartment toward the front. Whereas the two C7 occupants sit almost near the rear wheels, their counterparts in the C8 sit roughly in the middle of the car.
For obvious reasons, the air intakes/outlets are entirely different between the two models. The C7 has an air outlet / extractor behind the front wheels, from which heat and turbulent under hood air is expelled from. It is followed by a small intake behind the doors, just ahead of the rear wheels. There is no corresponding front outlet in the C8, because it doesn’t need one, but a very large intake that sends air into the engine compartment can be seen at the rear.
In each case, the roofline is at its highest above the passengers’ heads. Since the passengers in the C8 sit so much further forward, this gives it an advantage, since the roof has far more space to complete its slow descent to the rear of the car, and leads into a flatter panel behind the engine compartment. It is also very likely that the C8, therefore, has an aerodynamic advantage over the C7, at least at the rear.
The layout of the C7 made it obviously challenging for Chevrolet designers to provide enough window space for good rear visibility. This should not have been much of a problem on the C8, but it seems that Chevrolet turned down the opportunity and made that rear-side visibility worse than it was on the C7. Partly to blame are the latest automotive styling trends, which seem to prioritize more aggressive design over outward visibility. Clearly, this has not impacted C8 Corvette sales in the slightest.
The rear fascia design of the C8 is far more complex than that of the C7. This may also be partly due to fashion, though the C8 also requires more space for the two air outlets / extractors, which the C7 also has, albeit in a smaller size. The rear license plate on the C8 is mounted much higher, which has made it impossible to include the Corvette cross flags logo. Seemingly to make up for that, the Corvette lettering is larger on the C8 than on the C7.
As discussed in a previous GM Authority article, both Corvettes demonstrate a rear lighting design philosophy of combining horizontal and vertical elements. The details vary considerably among Chevrolet models, but the basic principle is the same throughout the range. In the C7, it is seen in one pair of hockey stick shapes on each side of the car. In the C8, the shape is more complex, with a horizontal element which changes direction twice at the side of the vehicle through two slightly obtuse angles. This makes the lighting almost turn back on itself, and produce an arrow effect.
And yet despite the multitude of differences between the design of the C7 and C8, both sports cars are clearly and instantly recognized as Corvettes, which speaks to the ability C8’s designers to bring the Corvette into the 2020s while maintaining its unique styling identity.
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Comments
The rear of the C7 is SO much cleaner than the C8!!!!!!!!!! Side view also is better on the C7 than it is on the C8!!!!!!! Interesting that you chose a yellow on the C8, and white on the C7………Makes the C8 stand out………..nice try!!!!!!!!!
C7 should have remain Corvette which I would buy hands down, C8 should have been named Stingray or Sting Ray which ever Chevy like best
People generally do not like change, right or wrong. Corvette owners are just people. Not impartial analyst.
Exactly! C7 is meaner!
I still much prefer the C7 rear-end! Cleaner and simpler lines. C8 is too busy with style cues.
Ironically , adding the tail blade ( wing) in any of its available configurations, cleans up the presentation and makes it more palatable to the eye.
I don’t see the necessity for the busy rear end, either, from a form follows function explanation. Much of the “ vertical and horizontal lines” in the design and the license plate recess seem contrived and unnecessary.
From most any other angle, the C8 is clearly more appealing to those without a historic long hood line prejudice. Ferrari offers both options. It doesn’t have to be an either/or choice for street application.
Yes. A wing like the C8.R definitely cleans up the presentation! It’s like growing a beard to hide a weak chin! Plus, redesigning a new rear fascia would be very easy for GM to do!
Exactly! C7 is meaner!
The C 7 is by far a more beautilfu sports car!
Exactly! C8 has ugly lines all around. An old man’s sports car…
Like my C6 with the classic round tail lights.
True, I usually call them pepperoni taillights.
I have a C6 also never really thought of them as pepperoni tail lights until now. Now I won’t be able to get that out of my mind.
That’s hilarious cause I was thinking of another pepperoni reference!!! 👀
C7 is a road trip GT car; the C8 is more of a “performance first” car. Both can be optioned to be the opposite. Both are desirable and attainable!
GM really hit a home run with he C8!
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GM should have kept selling the C7 as a Corvette alongside the new, mid- engine C8, also as a Corvette. What I am saying is, GM should turn Corvette into a brand just like what Porsche has done with great success. Carefully expand the brand in the coming years keeping the focus on performance and style with anything that carries the Corvette name.
You said the same thing I did but keep the same name which would create confusion on which is front engine or rear engine
There would be no confusion between a front engined Corvette and a mid engined Corvette any more than with the various Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I’d drop the progressive references (C7, C8, C9….) and give each Corvette its own name. i.e. Stingray, MakoShark, etc.
C7 more beautiful, and I think within 20 years, it will be even more desirable then a C8, specially the stingray, not the ZR1 of the C7, that is also too bombastic like the C8, only my opinion
Thats not a Chevy badge on the nose. Its a Corvette badge (which has a bow tie in the flag), the word chevrolet or just a chevy bow tie is not found them them. One day i feel a Corvette suv will be made.
Yes, of course – thanks for pointing that out. The article has been corrected.
The last Vette that stirred my blood was the ’63 split window, one of the most beautiful sports cars ever. The new C8 is mechanically exciting but the design is fussy poorly proportioned and too complex. Not visually a “blood stirrer.”
Sorry to disagree with you on this one ,once you get behind the wheel of the C8 you will Never Go Back ,This is my 11 th vette ,just traded my 2018 Grand Sport ,This C8 is in a different class of its own,. The balance of the C8 is simple Amazing,Drives like a Dream without that Heavy Front End .Try One and then tell me that I am wrong .
Tony,
I have driven all eight generations and I agree with you 100%.
The C7 is beautiful and the last of the standard shift Corvette the C8 is a Acura NSX-Ferrari wannabe
You remind me of the fossils who used to say “real Corvettes have solid axles”. Are the 1953 1954 and 1982 models “wannabe” Corvettes because no manual transmission was available?
Actually they were. Both were poor examples of what sports cars should be. Slugs that didn’t drive very well. Manual wouldn’t have made much difference….those 2 didn’t even deserve manual transmissions.
Actually it’s Dr. Safran but that’s not what makes me an imbecile. At least I hope not. It’s your opinion that matters Montavious…at least to you and you only! (it’s very easy to insult people you don’t know as an anonymous idiot in the cloud but you will find that it gets you just as nowhere as being an insulant asshole will in person).
Oh my! Doctor, how impressive! There are hardly any doctors in this country. Sir, what makes you an imbecile is thinking you know more than GM what a “real” Corvette is. AlthoughI may not only you personally, from the tone of your comments I do. I know plenty of so-called “educated” self important, pompous, know it alls who use big words to prove to themselves how “intelligent” and important they are. The fact that you have to use vulgar adjectives (limited vocabulary) shows how small, unimportant, and ignorant you really are.
Your blood pressure is going up. Jealousy and stupidity are a very unhealthy combination. I suggest you take 2 chill pills, save your money and buy a Corvette or Porsche or really any decent sports convertible and take a long drive off a short pier. That should lower your blood pressure, reduce your anxiety and minimize your need to learn how to be a productive and sociable member of society rather than a basement lurking internet slurping troll.
This is the base Stingray, sitting to next to a C7 Grand sport, which has the wide body styling similar to the C7 ZO6. The first widebody version of the C8 is the new Z06. I would love to see a side by side comparison of both, on GM Authority.The New C 8 Z06 would blow the old C7 Z06 away in the looks department, I’ve saw them side by side. And it’s not even close.
I love the cabin of the C8! I do like the instrument display on the C7 better than the C8 though. The C8 is amazingly quick for “only” having 495 HP! It loves the open freeway where it builds up speed quickly! The C8’s ride is several orders of magnitude better than the C7. I did notice the C8’s front-end did seems a bit light and twitchy though…
Dr. Safran, tell us what your C7 ZO6 is like on accelerating from 0 to 150 MPH?
it might be better mechanically but in the looks department, no way. C8 has ugly design line’s all around. An old man’s sports car. Love my C7, looks meaner!
This isn’t a fair comparison. They should’ve compared the C8 to a base C7, this is the wide body version of the C7 vs a base C8 which look as good as this wide body version. Can’t wait to see the top tier offering of the C8, the base car is beautiful next to anything. The wide bodies will step up the styling. Because I’ve seen the base C7 sitting next to a wide-bodied version of the car, and you can noticably see the difference between the two cars.
If the C8 is a Acura NSX wannabe? I wish people can decide what the car it’s trying to look like? Everything from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren? It’s getting played out because the only thing that those cars share is their mid engine layout. But the vast majority of the public doesn’t share your view of the C7. Because the C8 is one of the hottest cars in recent years, GM can’t keep up with the orders, the best selling car since January. Even Ford is seen benchmarking it.Your beautiful C7 was never in high demand, or this type of popularity.The people has spoken.
I hope GM does use the Vette name and builds an all-electric something and soon or I will be looking at a Mustang E!
Big mistake not continuing the C7 design. It is iconic. Learn from Ford”s playbook. The Mustang is also iconic and the best selling sports car worldwide. The world would be shocked to see Ford discontinue the Mustang. Forcing the C8 on us want work.
I question why a rear engine car has such gaping grill openings in the front? I know much is blocked out, and non-functional, which only makes the question more relevant. Also note the roof of the C8 is taller than the C7. HMMMMM….Please everybody, stop buying these UGLY BLACK WHEELS, which disappear once you walk away from the car.
I have a 2016 C7 Z06 vert with a manual and it’s trade in value has risen almost 25K within the past year so there’s a huge demand for these as well as for C8s. The C8 in my mind has many styling cues that I think are kind of ridiculous compared to the C7 but when you see it on the road it is very striking and grabs your attention. When you see it in a parking lot however and walk around it …especially parked side by side with a same color C7 Z06…..it seems a bit contrived and mis proportioned. I have not driven one but I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it. Still….with electric cars like the Tesla Plaid that can silently (like a sewing machine) destroy any IC engine machine and make numbers that render these designs as anachronisms in the waiting it seems to me that I want my sports car to be a bit of a jackhammer with a stick shift …..the opposite of that silent sewing machine killer and I think I’ll end up keeping my manual shift C7 Z06 and end up owning both of those rather than moving up to a C8 Z06 which has already been rendered obsolete before it’s even seen it’s delayed release. Sports cars are about more than “finishing first”….also something to be said for “enjoying the ride” and the right noises, the top coming down and stirring your own gears for me is part of that.
A C7 isn’t a “”real” Corvette, because EVERYONE knows a “real” Corvette has hideaway headlights and round tail lights. ( tongue in cheek comment) Super nice car Doctor S.!
Glad you approve of my fake Corvette. I have a deposit on the new C8 Z06 if it ever shows up but I’m leaning away from going that route. Looking at a Tesla plaid instead which is certainly a “real” EV if there ever was one and I hope will improve my cred with online trolls such as yourself.
Montavious exactly. Lol
Exactly I have a 2016 C7 manual as well. I will keep mine, too. C8 though may me amazing mechanically but the C7 looks meaner. They could have designed the C7 much better.
You call me a troll, (takes one to know one) but I know what you really want to call me. Lol! Cheers and God Bless!
Do you own a Corvette?
What did GM do to the rear of the C8???? It looks awful! It looks squished, as if the hand of God came down and squeezed the top-middle and bottom-middle together! The front view is also weak. Both cars shine in side-view!
I own a C7 and rented a C8 on Turo for a day. The C8 is dramatically quicker and the ride quality is much better than my C7 (butter smooth)! I do miss the stick shift though and feel GM should have left that option available despite the “Great Wall of Buttons.”
My C7 is white with black wheels, a black spoiler and a black roof. I find it sexy as hell! I love admiring it in side view! The car gets compliments all the time, but unfortunately always from other guys! ;(
My car is underpowered and doesn’t build up significant torque until 4 to 5 thousand RPMs. I test drove a C7 ZO6 with a manual transmission and that thing had the opposite problem! It doesn’t have enough traction to floor it in first gear nor the beginning of second gear. It will just spin the tires and the rear will go sideways! I want to supercharge my car with a Procharger centrifugal supercharger…
The point really is that electric cars have reset the performance standards so high that it is clear that internal combustion engine cars will never touch them. A 130 thousand dollar Tesla family sedan that costs pennies to run can easily destroy a 3 million dollar supercar for 2 people that slurps gas like a thirsty SUV going up a mountainside. What these sports cars will need to do in order to remain relevant is to focus the experience of the sports car vs the electric car….the sounds, look, handling, thrills and nostalgia rather than trying to compete for speed because they will lose badly in the latter category easily. I think some sports cars will go hybrid or electric but they have a long way to go to catch industry leader Tesla who is coming out with their own electric roadster that will likely be a Ferrari and Bugatti killer in a huge way. The future of the sports car IMO will lie partly in the past where some rough character, wind in the hair, shifting yourself and dealing with imperfections that give character create part of the charm. In the “sewing machine as track star” category the electric cars will rule the future and IMO the C8 is definitely a step away from charm and character and into the smooth and refined nature domain that will take them ultimately to where Corvette will have to go electric to have any chance of competing. So that’s why I’ll keep my manual shift, rear end sliding, imperfect C7 Z06 vert and buy a Tesla plaid so I have the best of both worlds rather than updating the Z06 ….unless of course the Z06 comes out and knocks my socks off in which case I have a deposit on it and a saved spot for one just in case.
I agree with a lot of what you stated. However, you’re going to look funny at a vette rally in a Tesla regardless of how fast. I think I’ll stay in the vette club. It’s an awesome community…. Two fingers up over the steering wheel!
Keeping my C7 Z06 so should be OK if I ever want to go to a Vette rally but could do “cars and coffee” with either car and be OK I think. In the future I think all performance cars will have to either go electric or hybrid while sports cars will not necessarily be track stars designed to beat EVs but cars that offer a driving experience that is sporting in character and that is as it should be. I think the C7 Z06 with a manual is more “sporting” in character than a Tesla plaid would be and for that matter….more than a C8 mid engine automatic transmission car is but I haven’t owned the C8 so hard to really know.
The rear is complex! NO the rear is BUTT UGLY! My C7 looks way better. Until the drama of trying to purchase a C8 dies down, I will wait for a test drive.