OT: The New C8 Corvette is Revealed
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If you're talking about limiting the speed to say, 160, instead of something like 190, it's hard to see how that alleviates a heck of a lot. They just brought out a ZR1 that will do more than 200, and they have several engine options planned for the C8 that will take it into high-end territory. Anyway, you'd be foolish to do anything much over 100 on most American roads, and almost every car made nowadays is capable of more than that.
There has been talk of 4-5 engine options, including a four-wheel-drive version with a combined gas-electric power plant that would make nearly 1,000 horsepower and probably would do more than flirt with 200. Whether they could find a market for that remains to be seen.
I saw seat heaters on it. Figure secondary crap like that.I'm thinking the wall of buttons isn't purely infotainment. A closeup of the array would be nice, but I haven't seen one yet.
Chevy isn't unique, here. Witness the similar (albeit better executed) Porsche Macan:
22 videos on the Corvette website:
https://www.chevrolet.com/upcoming-vehicles/next-generation-corvette#
Interesting, the new Vette is using the same V8 6.2L block that our new Yukon Denali has.....but 75 more HPs and 3000 less pounds! :)
Sounds like a big change, but a Vette is supposed to have a V8 block in it. They better not go with a smaller high pitched engine like one of those European cars.
Sounds wussy. My uncle had a 67 vette 427 big block with side pipes.
#whencarswerecars
May? May? What’s this “may” crap? [laughing]
Incidentally, I read that, despite moving the C8’s engine behind the cabin, the polar moment of inertia remains about the same (according to some Chevy engineer). I found that surprising. Reason given was that the C7 engine was already sitting pretty far behind the front axle. The engineer gave some other reasons for the changeover to a mid-engine. My guess is the difference will likely be felt more in the C8-R than the road car.
Back to the 911, the latest 2020 911 race car has actually moved the engine forward to more of a mid-engine layout. And even in the road going 911s, the engine has been creeping forward some, although they remain strictly rear-engine.
Mid-engine is the way to go for a performance car. Porsche still intentionally shackles the Caymans, power-wise, in order to continue being able to charge so much more for the 911s. But I can attest to the fact that Caymans definitely rotate better than 911s on track.
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I’m kind of okay with the C8’s styling in the front 2/3s of the car. But I dislike the rear 3rd, and totally hate the backside. Also not a fan of the interior. I’m curious how good the fit and finish will be at 60K.
I look forward to seeing what the up-models will be like. When the base does 0-60 in under 3 seconds, what’s the ZR1 gonna do?
I look forward to seeing what the up-models will be like. When the base does 0-60 in under 3 seconds, what’s the ZR1 gonna do?
The fact that the C8 is 6" longer than the C7 would have the effect of increasing the PMI, which would to some extent offset the decrease attained by moving the engine. My guess is that turn-in is still going to be a hell of a lot better in the new car.
I never knew that the C7 was actually shorter, overall, than a 911. That seems preposterous, on its face, but is apparently nonetheless true.
The C8 has 53 more horsepower and 80 additional lb/ft of torque as compared to a Carrera S while being nearly identical in weight (the 'Vette is 16 lbs. lighter). This is going to be interesting. My guess is that we'll seen be seeing a 'Ring time that makes everyone say, "oh, shit..."
The supercar market won’t be affected by the C8 at all. Because of exclusivity. If you can afford to spend 300K to well over a million on a rare weekend toy, and you want to check out a C8, then you just get a C8 too. But you don’t stop collecting supercars.
Agreed about turn in. Just being lighter in the front compared to the C7 will help with that. Also be interesting to know the relative downforce numbers.
I too am curious to see what the ‘Ring time is. But Chevy may wait for an upmodel to set an official one. Or might wait on the lighter engine.
Have you seen specs for the tires and wheels in the base model? At first glance, it looks to me like they went with narrower rear wheels than the C7. Perhaps they will reserve wider wheels for the up-models. Or maybe my perception about the width is incorrect.
I hope they don't. GM has basically perfected big displacement (but physically small and light) V8's. it's their biggest advantage and selling point vs the competition. if they had stuffed the LT1 into the ATS instead of the TTV6 it probably would have been a huge success instead of another lackluster "me too" european sport sedan wannabe.
Or maybe it's tough to jam a V8, transaxle, associated gear and fatter tiers behind the seats in a Corvette.
Before anybody runs out to buy one, be aware that the introduction of the C8 was delayed due to some technical difficulties with the car in testing, rumored to be electronic. I’d wait at least a half year after they hit showrooms to allow time for new car owners to get through the infatuation stage. Then check out the Corvette forums to see what kinds, how frequent, and how bad the inevitable glitches (that are common with almost all cars) are.
Wheel Size:
Front: 19-inch x 8.5-inch (w/5 x 120mm bolt pattern)
Rear: 20-inch x 11-inch (w/5 x 120mm bolt pattern)
Tire Type and Size:
Stingray: Michelin Pilot Sport ALS
Stingray with Z51: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
Front: 245/35ZR19
Rear: 305/30ZR20
I don't agree. Given similar power / torque ratings, a smaller engine is always better. They rev faster due to less reciprocating mass. They're also more efficient.
Additionally the LT2, like all its forebears, is an overhead valve engine with 2 valves per cylinder as opposed to the more modern (ya know, for about the last 30 years) overhead cams with 4 valves per cylinder. The OHV design means that the big V8 is unable to rev as high due to valve float, while the 2 vs. 4 valve cylinder heads means less overall valve opening volume and more mass per valve which, combined with the OHV camshaft arrangement, further limits the engine's ability to rev and decreases efficiency.
Precisely. That's how I've been describing the C8 to folks - it's really the first genuine, affordable American GT car in full production.
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Thanks. Where'd you find it?
I suspect the up-models will go wider in front and rear, just like the C7 did (the C7 up-models have 12" wide rears and 10 or 10.5 fronts). This makes me think any official 'Ring time will be set on an up-model version of the car, with a lighter-weight blown engine, wider wheels, and Michelin Cup 2 tires.
I'm going to want to test drive one of these, despite not entirely loving the appearance. But I'll wait a bit to let them sort out any gremlins and for the up-models to be introduced. I gotta think the ZR1 version (assuming there will be one) will have completely insane performance, assuming they base it on a lighter-weight, blown engine and that there are no innate suspension design issues.
For the sake of comparison, my tire/wheel setup, stock, are:
F: 245/35ZR20 on 20x8.5
R: 305/30ZR20 on 20x11.5.
I had opted to go w/regular lugged wheels instead of the default center-locks. The stock center-lock wheels add a half inch to the wheel width, front and rear.
I plan to get aftermarket wheels for use with the summer setup that will be at least as wide as the CL wheels. But I'm lazy and am still running around burning up my winter tires on the stock wheels while the summer tires grow old in my basement. Lame.
Road & Track published a full specs page with everything that Chevy has released to this point.
So are we starting to get the sense that GM had a couple of foreign halo cars squarely in its sights when it was developing the C8? :)
As luck would have it, I fund myself directly behind a 570S at an intersection earlier today. There's definitely a resemblance.
So are we starting to get the sense that GM had a couple of foreign halo cars squarely in its sights when it was developing the C8? :)
As luck would have it, I fund myself directly behind a 570S at an intersection earlier today. There's definitely a resemblance.
Is it a correct assumption to make that a mid-engine bay will allow more space, or shall I say less restriction on the size of the engine? I recall with C6 the low, sloping hoodline made it impossible to fit a supercharger in, without bumping up the hood. Will this now allow for greater in-house or even aftermarket tinkering?
Agreed.
I've been reading, on some of the automotive websites, some authors referring to the C8 as the first mid-engine American supercar. Which is false. The Ford GT is the first mid-engine American supercar and is way more of a supercar, with way more of a supercar price and supercar exclusivity, than the C8.
The 2019 (MkII) version looks like a total beast. Loaded w/lightweight materials. Beautiful timeless styling. About 3,000 pounds, dry. Me wants.
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I suspect the engine packaging to be extremely tight in order to maximize cabin and luggage space.
If you want to tinker, you’ll probably have a lot of plumbing to do. It’s the main reason people dislike the mid engine Porches: servicing them is expensive because you need to basically take the entire engine out to do something like change the water pump.
If you want to tinker, you’ll probably have a lot of plumbing to do. It’s the main reason people dislike the mid engine Porches: servicing them is expensive because you need to basically take the entire engine out to do something like change the water pump.
I don't know that the mid-engine layout creates more room, per se. The engine, transmission, beefier suspension (because of the weight at the rear), luggage area, and wider wheels are all competing for space back there.
But there does seem to be some room above the base model engine. And if they go with a smaller, lighter engine, that will open up even more room. We can surely expect either a supercharged or turbocharged (or twin turbocharged) version.
You hit on a very good point. While the price-point of the car is pretty low - lower than most expected, the maintenance costs will almost certainly go up quite a bit due to the complications introduced by the necessary engine packaging.
Depending on the model and series, a 911 can be easier to do certain basic maintenance tasks than a Cayman. An oil change is trivially simple in any 991.2 911 Carrera model, for example. And with 911s, it's not all that difficult to remove the rear bumper which gives access to a bunch of less basic maintenance tasks.
There's some resemblance. But the McLaren appears to have softer curves, the Chevy harder angles. I need to see the Chevy in person, though, as I keep reading that it looks better in person than in photos - and I've seen that effect in other cars.
In my opinion, based on photos only, the C8 design seems to suffer from the same excessive angularity (too busy to my eyes) that the new Supra suffers. Although I like the C8 styling way more than the Supra's.
Incidentally, there are some very low mileage 2018 570S's available in the 180s.
I absolutely love it, and I'm not a Chevy guy. Looks like a Ferrari, and it's $60k.
I'm not one to pay even $60k for any car, but my hope is that in 2-3 yrs I can pick one up for around $40k, knowing how american cars depreciate.
Also, maintenance on the car should be relatively cheap as compared to an actual Ferrari, or even a Porsche. That's a big deal if you plan to actually drive the car a good bit.
I'm not one to pay even $60k for any car, but my hope is that in 2-3 yrs I can pick one up for around $40k, knowing how american cars depreciate.
Also, maintenance on the car should be relatively cheap as compared to an actual Ferrari, or even a Porsche. That's a big deal if you plan to actually drive the car a good bit.
It's all perception and opinion, but in my opinion, I don't think the C8 looks much like any Ferrari. Maybe it does in a kind of macro sense in that mid-engine cars mostly do tend to resemble each other as compared to front-engine cars, or 911s (rear-engine).
But when you really look closely at them, I don't see the C8 as coming close to meeting the design standard set by any modern Ferrari.
But when you really look closely at them, I don't see the C8 as coming close to meeting the design standard set by any modern Ferrari.
looks similar to 488 GTB to me.
Ferrari 488 is a 3.9L twin turbo with 660 hp.
the base C8 only puts out 495 hp but it's 0-60 is already similar to the 488 GTB.
what's interesting is that they are going to start putting in some variations to the engine in the next few years.
here are some variants of the LT engine family http://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-engines/lt2/
the the 6.2L LT4 puts out 650 hp. i wonder what the 0-60 and ring time would be with that.....hmm
The GTB doesn’t have the overdone creases and ridges as the C8. The general approach is similar. The details are different. At least to my eye. It’s pretty subjective.
I agree that the C8 up-models are going to be serious performers. The C7 race car was great and I expect no less from the C8.
60 years in the making. No fewer than half a dozen formal prototype efforts during that time. At least four generations of "will they do it this time?" teasing. Finally, the new 2020 Corvette is a mid-engine car, just like a McClaren 720 or Ferrari F8.
It's radically different. The design language has been revised to accommodate moving the engine behind the seats, while still retaining key 'Vette styling cues. The leaf spring suspension is gone, for the first time in the car's 64 year production run. There is no manual transmission, not even as an option - power is directed to the wheels via a Tremec 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox that is fully electronically controlled - there is no shift linkage.
The chassis of the C8 is entirely aluminum and carbon fiber, so the structure is stiffer than any previous version. Curb weight is quoted at 3366 lbs. which, combined with the 495 hp from the 6.2 liter V-8 (designated LT2) will allow 0 - 60 times of 3.0 seconds. All this can be had for a base price of $59,995.
The styling of the new mid-engine car may be polarizing, but I personally think it's pure hotness.
never owned a stingray, but always thought they were the coolest looking car out there....owned a firebird back in the 70's, which was one of my favorite vehicles.
anyway, if you ever get a chance to tour the
stingray assembly plant in Kentucky, do so....I went with a group of fraternity brother football fans a number of years back....even the wives enjoyed it.....
