Mid Engine Corvette: Should they build it, pros and cons

Since I was a wee tyke there's been leaks of news on a mid-engine Corvette. It's getting more credible. I'd like to be a supporter of it but I keep having worries about supporting something that's not supportable.
Here's how I see the advantages:Opinions welcomed.

PRO (why they should build it)

BUILD FOR THE ELITE The Market Has changed, maybe GM can make a fat profit on each one , even if it is as rare as say the top of the line Lincoln Navigator that's $100K.
So this would be to kiss the mass market goodbye and build a world class car that will do everything a mid-engine Ferrari V8 could do, at one third the price.

AIM FOR WHAT'S LEFT OF AMERICAN CAR MARKET All anyone is buying is SUVs and pickups. So think of the money saved on sedans, use some of the development money to make a car that's going to roll out the door at $130,000 each.

IT WILL DESTROY FERRARI Ferrari, and McLaren and Audi to some extent have this mid-engine market to themselves in the US. But if the mid-engine Corvette is lower cost but does the same things,then with more dealers Chevy can squash these companies, at least Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.

IT WILL RESULT IN A CAR FOREIGNERS WOULD BUY Up until now, furriners have thumbed their collective noses at American cars but if this car has good quality and reliability and looks and low upkeep cost, it could be sold in several foreign countries. Even 10,000 sales outside the US would help a lot in writing off a lot of the development costs.

IT WILL MAKE FORD AND CHRYSLER LOOK LAME Yes, Ford has the Ford GT now but if it will achieve most of what the GT can do, at a far lower price, it will achieve its purpose. And it will make GM look like the technology leader of the American Big Three Chrysler had their chance with that mid-engine that Daimler sponsored but that car is obsolete now and they would have to start from scratch.
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CON (against)
IT WILL DECIMATE THE TRADITIONAL CORVETTE CUSTOMER BASE Mid engine cars have less luggage room, and are more difficult to see out of, and cost a lot more than front engine, so I predict that instead of a 30,000 cars a year average, GM will be lucky to see 10,000 a year.

IT WILL LOWER THE RESALE VALUE OF FRONT-ENGINED CORVETTES. that's a big boo-hoo, technology does that. did I tell you how low a price I had to sell my last Nikon film camera?

IT WILL BE IRRELEVANT TO OTHER CHEVYS IN THE SHOWROOM Just like the Ford GT of '05-06 was totally beyond anything Ford was selling at the time. People in the income ranges that buy Ferraris and Lambos and McLarens don't go to Chevy showrooms, so it's like they are selling gourmet meals at a McDonalds.

IT WILL COST TOO MUCH TO DEVELOP ,ESPECIALLY THE TRANSAXLE Unless they eliminate a manual shift altogether, this could cost too much to develop considering the under-10,000 per year sales figure I am projecting. The gearbox would have to be useable in a mass market car. The only way they can do it is to use some gearbox usually used for a front drive car.

 

More credible? Of course they are building it. How much more evidence do you need?

LOL destroy the Mid engine market.... that's hilarious. I'm sure Ferrari is quaking in their boots now. McLaren and Lambo too....

This is the Italian reaction to the Mid Engine Corvette "threat"

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It will be a different product from a European midengined supercar.

Yes they should build it, they need to go "next level."
Will they alienate people, do they risk losing longstanding fans? Yes...very much so.
But their older fan base is moving into minivans and getting friends together for the 5 o'clock buffet at Golden Coral.

It is time.
It will be very interesting.
It will be fast.
It will be within financial reach for a much larger audience than European midengined-customers.

Can't wait to see it, to drive it.

 

It won't be for the elite - Chevy is a volume car dealer

They are building the ME for many reasons, including keeping one of their most profitable lines fresh and relevant, at the top of the racing world, and to drive sales in Europe (which have been virtually non-existent).

Ford's announcement to eliminate most car lines should not be taken for granted here. Chevy is absolutely in the same boat, they have the highest DOH inventory in the industry. Making a $100k+ halo car that needs a quick ROI on an $800M+ investment would be suicide.

The car will base at $60-65k.

 

Yup. If they build a car for their "base", Chevy will be out of the car business in less than 10 years.

All the "traditionalists" (of which I normally relate to) complaining about this should put their money where their mouth is and buy more FE Corvettes. Current sales are dismal.

This is a business, and a nasty one at that. There is a lot riding on this car, and I'm pretty sure GM knows that.

 

If it's a boatload faster than the Acura NSX while being significantly less $$$, it should do just fine.

 

Not possible to do a base on the numbers quoted for 60-65K. I would know better than most.....

 

I agree lmp but have been bashed about the head and shoulders by select group for ever suggesting a mid engine would cost more than the current Z06. So get prepared buddy cause its coming at you.

 

Double that amount.

But I find all this kind of silly. Why not just wait until they finally show this darn car. It's like an elephant giving birth.

3 years ago when Honda said they were bringing back the NSX everyone said it would kill Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, Audi...

Some of these people are having their best years ever while Honda can't sell more than 500 of them a year.

oops.

 

There's a 36 page thread on the car and its ifs, ands, buts, butts, and everything else. I agree with the Mayor just wait and see, it's getting done.

 

How much is replacing the automatic with DCT going to add to the build cost?
Money spent on plant upgrades seem to indicate they are expecting to build 30k plus cars a year there.
Can ME and FE cars be built on the same production line that was just updated for C7 builds???
Maybe they have a secret plan to build 25k Corvette SUV models we don't know about with the extra plant capacity ...

 

Now THAT would sell like hotcakes!

 

Additional competition is good for the consumer.


It would be a good idea, if Chevy offered optionally a quality upgraded interior. I realize GM is too big to hand stitch a leather interior. They could subcontract it, in a similar method as they did with the Callaway Corvette. Unfortunately, it will probably never happen.

Some buyers have complained about the interiors for decades. It would be interesting if the bean counters even considered an outside supplier.

 

You definitely have experience - what is it that makes it not possible?

Porsche, Lotus, and Alfa all created $60k mid engine cars (ok the Lotus was pretty sparse), why couldn't Chevy?

$60k maybe too low, but $70k tops at base. You well know there is a business case that has to justify proceeding, there's no way Chevy approved a replacement for the current model if the target MSRP is over $100k.

I do product planning, and I would reject that business case before it hit my desk.

 

Yea because it's hard to justify $150k for the NSX.

So Chevy is going to repeat that mistake?

No way.

 

The seats are made near Churchill Downs, an outside supplier & have been for years.

 

Italy has plenty of small suppliers and ships depart each day, from Genoa

 

More like: probably.

Actually no one wants to pay $150K for an over engineered, overly complicated, rather dull looking Japanese car built in America.

 

Its not just the assembly and sewing. The "premium" leather material quality on my C7 was simply horrible. Its garbage in, garbage out. I will never buy another GM car sight unseen (aka factory delivery) again. The paint and leather were embarrassing. Hopefully Chevy is working to fix both. But I want to see with my own eyes next time.

 

I had a 1989 Mustang GT. I also purchased a 1990 Corvette. The Mustang had much better leather ! The Corvette had a synthetic smell, in the interior. Both cars were purchased new.

 

Yes but I would add that no one wants to pay for an over engineered, overly complicated, rather dull looking American car either.

Let's be honest - the mules running around are conservative looking (e.g. "Safe"). That's not a good sign. By comparison, the Ford GT is amazing and unique, and while expensive, it LOOKS the part.

Just the very fact that the design appears to be evolutionary tells me the car isn't going to be ultra expensive / exclusive.

Right now, NOTHING points to the car being over $100k that I can see.

 

I expect the ME to be really simple. No fancy batteries or electric motors, pretty straight forward auto box transaxle, standard edition V8, stamped steel and welded frame with a plastic body.

Something GM knows how to make.

 

I agree 100% - it's going to be a C7 with the engine mounted in the middle - nothing more.

And honestly, I think that's all the market really wants.

 

Agreed.

Maybe someone much, much more knowledgeable than me can say if/why the manufacturing process for a mid-engine car is more expensive than a front-engine car? I would think, once the car is designed, manufacturing is pretty similar??

 

I had a 89 Vette. The leather seats were really good, but yes the rest of the car interior was plastic.