C8 Mid Engined Corvettes

Recently thanks to some leaked information, hints and Spy shots of test cars , we will finally soon be seeing an entire range of Mid engined Chevrolet Corvette Models.

Apart from the already mentioned, leaked information and hints from Chevy, There are allot of reasons why we wil very soon see a Mid engined Corvette. Here's why

1. The Corvette has reached the limits of a RWD Front engine Super car.

Even with the base model C7 Corvette Stingray, it is very difficult to drive and especially launch this car in normal Street conditions without losing traction, or fishtailing the rear end uncontrollably. This problem is very apparent in the manual, more than in the 8 speed auto transmission.

To try and minimise this problem with higher, more powerful models such as the Corvette Z06, they increased the tire size from P285/30R20 to a decent P335/25ZR20. This does help to turn the Corvette Z06 into an extreme track weapon when you use the right tire compound and have a good driver behind the wheel. But this is not the case for everyone, and for the person using the Z06 as a daily driver, in possible cold, snowing or just every day road conditions, getting good traction is still a problem. So Launching and getting the Z06 to put the power down is a full time job in this current generation model.

All of this is understandable though, when you concider it has a 6.2 V8 Supercharged engine, pushing out 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft torque. All that power is great on paper, but creates a car that really makes you work to get the figures and numbers you're supposed to be getting, such as the 0-62 time of 2.9 seconds that is right about impossible to achieve anywhere else than a well prepared drag strip.

Not only is the engine position and drive train setup reaching the limits of what it can handle. But the entire pushrod OHC engine design is starting to show it's antique architecture and shortcomings in this world full of advanced vehicles. The 6.2 V8 engine is producing below average horsepower in the stingray for it's size, aswell as giving terrible fuel economy and emissions. Even the 650 horsepower in the Z06 is a very good number, but not amazing when you start to concider that there are decently smaller engines out there, making almost the same, maybe slightly less horsepower using smaller naturally aspirated and boosted engines, such as the Lamborghini Hurcan 5.2 (610 horsepower) and the Ford Mustang GT350 with 526 horsepower using just a 5.2 Naturally aspirated V8 aswell as things like the McClaren 650s achieving 650 horsepower with just a 3.8 Twin turbocharged V8.

2. Chevrolet has been wanting bigger status for a long time now

It's no secret that Chevrolet head been trying to reach new levels and compete with competition far above the capabilities of previous models. It's easy to see this judging by their bold claims about how the C7 Corvette Z06 is now the ultimate driving machine etc etc. This wasn't a complete fail, especially when you look at some of the blisteringly fast lap times set by the C7 Z06, some so good they came close to the Porsche 918 Hyper car, and also beating well known Super cars like the Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV and Nissan GTR Nismo around almost all tracks. That's definitely an accomplishment worth mentioning, but every time it seems like Chevrolet is only doing good at everything they tried doing great at.

With the Z06 they intend to make a super car able to break track records, while staying a perfect daily driver aswell. On the track it did indeed do great, but didn't set any records, and got completely overshadowed by the Viper ACR. And on the road, it's having driveability and traction issues as earlier mentioned. So the only way for Chevrolet to push the Corvette up to the next step, is to change the layout to a Mid engined, rear wheel drive design. Not only will this vastly improve traction and driveability, but also put the car into a new class of exotics and unique cars that stand out much more from the normal vehicles on the road.

So what should we expect from the C8 Mid Engined Corvettes?

They will most likely be powered by a completely new DOHC V8 engine with all of the more modern qualities that it's competition has.

I'm not going to lie and say it's horsepower will be this or that, because no one knows. But it should definitely be a decent improvement over the current engines in all ways. And I personally predict around 500 horsepower for the base models.

An all new platform not used by any other GM product currently known of or in production will be used for the new mid engined Corvettes aswell. This will also make the Corvette a much more unique and special car amongst American brands.

With The new layout and design we will obviously be able to expect a completely redesigned interior. And with the much higher price tag that is bound to come with the mid engined Corvette Models you can be certain it'll be very high quality and worthy of competing directly with the best out there, not only in performance but also quality and refinement.

Don't worry hardcore Corvette traditionalists, the main speculation right now is that the entire Corvette lineup will not be completely replaced with mid engined super cars, but rather that for a decent while longer there will also still be front engine rear wheel drive models available, most likely as lower end or base models. Unfortunately this will probably not stay the case, and all Corvettes might possibly change to the new platforms and architecture by roughly 2021

Here are a couple of spy shots of the C8 Corvette, along with the soon to release C7 Corvette ZR1.

And here are some closer looks at the C8

What's for sure though, is that we can definitely expect amazing performance from the C8 Corvettes at a price below it's competition. Let's hope this massive new step is a success for Chevrolet