mid engine corvette qtr panels leaked photo

^^^^
I had also heard "LaFerrari" references by someone on CF that "knew someone" that had seen the C8 uncamo'd. Take it for what you will.
It's interesting that of all the Ferrari Super-Duper cars, the only one I never liked (and still don't like) looks wise is the Enzo. I loved the LaF from the first time I saw it.

PS. I wouldn't worry about the render's wheels. None of the mules running around have had anything remotely approaching that style.

 

Also, there's a lip under the tacked on spoiler that's missing in the black banana render. I wonder if that lip is actually the top of the rear fascia, which means the engine cover is curved down to meet it????
I don't think the tacked on spoiler is going to be on the production car...just more subterfuge.
You can see the lip in the still picture below.

 

Is that little spoiler (or something like it) an option now? I saw a C7 driving in front of my neighborhood a few weeks ago with a spoiler that looked identical to the camo car's lip spoiler thing. It was the first and only time I saw that spoiler on a C7.

 

The car looks great on track with regard to handing. I would be the side scoop is a reflection of the window opening on the side.

 

The CAD drawings from a while ago showed a spoiler built into the body that goes up and down with a motor. None of the mules running around ever had that tacked on spoiler until the Nürburgring cars. My opinion (!!!) is the tacked on spoiler is not a production piece.

The spoiler you saw on a C7 was called a "wing spoiler" that was a dealer installed option on base C7's

Here you go:
https://www.mamotorworks.com/Corvette/product/rear-wing-2014-2015-paint-to-match-gm-647853-1

 

Yeah, I think that was it. Thanks.

 

Looks and sounds great!
Notice the sounds early on while shifting...DCT?

 

I’m still hoping the side air intakes aren’t as bad as they look. I’m hoping they are disguised.

 

The Nürburgring cars are clearly DCT's, based on sound and the quickness of the shifts.
It has been reported extensively that the car will be available with a DCT exclusively. Take that for what it's worth.
I will be surprised if that is true as even now, 22% of C7's are sold with manuals. On Corvette Forum, folks love to compare this decision (DCT only), which is not a KNOWN decision, to Ferrari going strictly automatic. What's lost is that the take rate on manuals had fallen to under 10% on Ferrari. 22% of C7's with manuals is a BIG number, compared to the Ferrari manual take rate.
We'll know soon enough, I suppose.

 

I think it's a good move, if true. In my experience, the majority (vast majority?) of manual drivers like and appreciate the DTC, while automatic drivers can just drop it in auto mode and be done with it.

 

I was one of the 1% that ordered a manual 430. Couldn’t give it away in ‘09 when I wanted to sell.
Now they’re in demand, go figure. I hated the idea of an auto Ferrari. It was sacrilege as far as I was concerned.
Having had a 458 & now a 488, i’m a auto/DCT convert. I surprised myself with how much I like the DCT.
Learn something new every day.
Never say never.

 

I'm still a true manual person, but I will admit, the DCT in the 458 just matches the car perfectly.

 

The real question is whats the manual take rate for the GS and z06, ie the more driver focussed vettes, that could be more than 22%. By way of comparison once a manual was offered in the Gt3 again the take rate was 70%. GT4 was manual only and doubled cayman sales. BMW M3/4 is 30%. Its an interesting debate because a year ago people were arguing manuals were dead, those same people are silent now we have the Gt3 numbers. For regular cars manuals are dead, for real drivers cars, not so.

In any event from what we read I think we're unlikely to see the manual in the C8, not least because it means developing 2 transmisions and chevy looks to be building last decades supercar now for a price, that means big car, DCT only lots of Hp and weight.

 

Agreed, DCT mates well with low Tq high rev motors.

 

Well, if what we read WAS correct, we would have had a mid-engine Corvette 4 decades ago....
I'm not sure I trust the car press any more now. Reality is that 22% of Corvettes (all bodies) are manuals....in MY 2017, that was 7,040 cars. The first MY of the C7 (2014) which was ONLY the Stingray Coupe and Convertible, manuals were 35% of the production.
Literally EVERYTHING written about this car is GUESSES. The perfect example was Car and Driver's 3,600 pound guess for the weight of the base C8...40 pounds MORE than a Fully loaded C7 ZR1. Anyone that believes that is delusional or knows NOTHING about Corvettes. If that number was REMOTELY correct, than you're looking at a TWO TON ultra performance C8 in 3 years or so. No way that happens.
If I was GM, I would make the C8 standard transmission a manual and charge accordingly for a DCT option.

 

I think if you or I were Gm the car might come out differently, or be built with a wide range of possible permutations. In any event as you say, we'll know soon.

 

^^^^^
What I hope is that the new assembly line gives GM the ability to take a page out of the Porsche playbook. There is NO question that the 911 is the target/inspiration. The up/down side to Corvette is that it is the most successful sports car in history (sales wise) and GM has to make compromises to fit a very diverse customer base. Porsche achieves this by making 20+ versions of the 911!

If I was GM, I would make the car that sells in the volume needed to sustain the car at it's price point.
And I would offer various "specials" (on a presale basis), like a "clubsport" version stripped down for the track rats (the Porsche GT's)
It's great business to announce "We're going to make 1,000 copies of a track car. See your local dealer". In every other business in the world, a de-contended product sells for less....
Porsche is wildly profitable by doing this exact thing.

 

[QUOTE="jimmyb, post: 146316411, member: 27980s The first MY of the C7 (2014) which was ONLY the Stingray Coupe and Convertible, manuals were 35% of the production.[/QUOTE]

But the first year was also stuck for better or worse with the older C6 six speed automatic transmission. That might have turned off a few customers who were sitting on the fence about which transmission to choose for their new 2014 edition Corvette...
There was some history with these transmission shortcomings to. The first C6 customers for the 2005 edition got the old 4 speed automatic transmission from the previous 2004 Corvettes to. Then the 6 speed transmission showed up the following year.
Now the ME enters with a DCT and a few are still whining like an old M-22 for another chance to buy a manual transmission!

 

No one is "whining", it's just a choice that some would like to make. As far as the high manual take in the C7's first year, that is the same with each new generation. The "faithful" buy the first year of the new generation, and the "faithful" tend to buy more manuals. Then, as you proceed into the following years, more new customers show up and buy automatics.
Frankly, after 20+ years of manual Corvettes, I will buy my C8 with a DCT, whether a manual is available or not.

PS. All those guys on Corvette Forum that proclaim "no manual, no C8 for me" are the same tiny group that sit around and wait for deals....and end up buying NOTHING.

 

Good point about the faithful jumping in early and getting the stick! I wonder if they will also have to buy an Impala to get an early ME Corvette to...

 

I personally HATED the C7 7 speed manual. Worse manual gearbox in history for fun driving.

If that's the future of manual boxes (to get better fuel economy), forget it.

 

^^^^^
Indeed. The 7 speed manual was more a marketing thing (it's got more gears!), I would get 4th as many times as I got 6th when downshifting from 7th. I lived with it for a year and finally replaced the shifter with an MGW which helps a lot. That said, no one is going to mistake it for a Honda S2000....

 

Nah, that's a Ferrari thing!

 

True!

Sadly the bowtie bandits would still charge you 25k extra but wouldn't give you the Impala...

 

Dealers for the most part order automatics for dealer inventory as they can sell automatics to everyone.

The 22 percent manual take rate on corvettes is low because of that fact.

I want a dct on my c8 and ive been driving manuals for 40 years.

Dct ‘s are just able to shift too fast to ignore.