mid engine corvette qtr panels leaked photo

WHY?????

The C7 is still selling about 30K cars a year. The over hyped Honda NSX sold about 600 a year-- all 23 of them last MONTH.

BWM i8 = FAIL. Ferrari makes about 3600 488's a year WORLDWIDE. Others like McLaren and Lamborghini make less.

In fact the Corvette Convertible must be the highest selling 2 seat convertible car in the world -- more than the Miata.

IMO, Chevy should tell the others to shut up and learn from them.

This car has no purpose other than to waste GM's money, which is why I predict there will be some in GM who never want it built.

It will never make them money and it will cost them time and energy better spent doing other things.

Do I want it built? If it's in the Corvette philosophy of lower cost for performance, simplicity, normally aspirated V8 and has a manual option --- yes.

Do I think that's what they will make -- NO.

 

FWIW, there is a current thought, backed up by some internal memos showing a "Y" body (Corvette) in 2021 in current front engine/rear drive format. This has led to the thought that the mid-engine car is NOT the C8 but will be an additional format under the Corvette umbrella. The C8, which will be a revised C7, will appear in 2021. Please don't shoot the messenger here as I certainly have NO idea what is really going to happen! BUT, GM has plowed over $800 million into the Bowling Green plant in less than 2 years....something's going on.
The plant is now shut down for a completely new assembly line (the first since the line was re-done with the intro of the C5 in 1997) and implementing the new paint shop. The plant is supposed to start producing cars again in October.

Jimmy

 

I never understand the Corvette/Ferrari/Porsche comparison. Corvette is a volume produced car, always has been. The vast majority of Corvette owners (like me) do NOT consider it a Ferrari/Porsche competitor. I'm sure GM is quite happy to sell 30,000 Corvettes a year and laugh all the way to the bank. The mid-engine car will have the advantage of being built in an established plant, sharing some parts (and costs) with "regular" Corvettes, and being a "halo" car that actually can be sustainable in the market, unlike many "halo" cars which sadly don't do well, like the Acura NSX and Dodge Viper.

As far as Corvette's ability to "beat" other cars and then have the comment thrown back: "well, it's not a Ferrari or a Porsche", that's kind of silly. They're all sports cars, part of a sports car's ability should be on a track. So, Corvette owners get tired of the "great bang for the buck" comment, but they also laugh at the "Ferraris/Porsches aren't about numbers". Generalizations are always too general (profound huh?)

 

Years ago there were pans mooted for the corvette to be more than one car. Budget limitations and what was then declining sales put an end to that. then we saw the vette z06 and Zr1 suddenly a +100k vette could sell. But you can only stretch a 50k car so far. Thats why poche has a boxter and a 911.

In thgis light the mid engined vette can sell in ahigher bracket than the font engined one. i dont see corvette droppign the front engined car, that woudl be like harley droppign a vtwin. Buta id engiend car is a nice addition.

Also look at a C7 on lift, you already have all the suspesion transaxle etc needed for a mid engined car. Motors are going to be more or elss the same. HVAC etc all the same.

The total investment needed then is not that huge, many of the hard and expensive bits will be the same.

I do agre with Mayor, a hybrid etc vette will bomb just liem the NSX. While ferrari mclaren and porche did some exeptional on paper hybrids the truth is a hybrid sports car answers a question no one is asking, it adds cost weight and complexity.

Ill put myself down as an idea mid engined vette buyer. I am continualy impressed by how well the C7 performs on track. Its handlign is clealry superior to the already good C6 and the z06 and grand sprt perform great. They also are clearly not in the same orbit as a 991 Gt3. Yes I know i have read all the magzine etstes, but out on the asphalt ona road course the vete aint quite there.

Addtionaly while the vette has a reasonable wheelbase it appears long due to overhangs, You also have to be ok with sitting in front of the rear wheels behind the pivot point of the car. The engineers at vette land have said that the front mid engined platform is pretty much at the limit, simply because to put more power down you have to keep lengthening the wheelbase.

The mid engined car can do things the front engined one cant, on track and in the showroom. A +100k car can have certain interior bits etc a 50k car(with optiosn) cant.
It can also have a broader performace bandwidth.


When i look to afuture sprtscar purchase things like cayman GT4rs with Gt3 motor and mid engined vette spring to mind.

If I can get my lambo aventadot/performante fix in a vette for under 150k sign me up.

So hopefully there is ahard core version and its not all acura NSX/Ferrari Gt, because that is a very very small pool.

 

To those who want mid engine, na motor w stick - why not just get audi r8? No one talks about it and never see it on road. Invisible super car

 

The new R8 is available with 7 speed DSG only. And, IMO, is a big step backwards styling wise. It looks like a big TT now.
I bet it is hard to find a 1st gen R8 with a manual.

 

In my case I want something I can take to the track, an awd R8 is not it.
A new mid engined vette may well be less expensive than a used R8 with stick, if you can find one. The vette will also be more durable and less expensive to run. And a new car is different to a used one. if for no other reason that you break it in yourself and know everyhting its been through.

Interesting thought though, will the mid engined vette sell in R8 numbers? What were those numbers.

 

Here you go, Audi R8 sales in the U.S.

Audi R8 Sales Figures - GOOD CAR BAD CAR

 

I recently saw a beautiful blue v10 r8 at Pocono track event and it had a stick. I assumed it was new but I guess not. it looked, sounded, and went very well.

from the sales figures, it seems like it sells between 75-100 cars/month in usa since beginning. what will mid vette look to move?

 

On pace for less than 1k cars sold in the US for a brand new model. Pretty pathetic actually.

 

A front engined vette moves significantly more metal/plastic than any other sportscar, so hopefully the mid engined one does the same.

How many z06s do they sell now? My guess probbaly a similar or slightly smaller number for the mid engined one.

The R8, the first series is prabably the only really origional supercar design in decades.
Look at one closely and the detailing, they are simply inspired, yet can fly under the radar of most mtorists on road, which is a big plus. The ones I saw on track evenbtualy sufffered due to the awd.

the pick of the bunch for me is the v8 one with a stick, simply a superlative year round road car.

I am thinking the vette will be a toned down aventador you can use. Here's hoping. My guess is there will be a stick, and auto and maybe a DSG. We also know there is a quad cam SBC comming.

There will hopefully be trackable versions and undountably there will be a zr1 hyper power version, twin turbo quad cam. Maybe it will be the first american car to crack 1000hp. With electronic nannies today no reason not to, and why would chevy leave dodge "wining at 850hp, esp as we hear the next Gt500 stang is going to beat that number. Where will it end where will it end.

Well hopefyully there will be a lightweight z06 version for those of us who like to drive and drive on track I'm thinking sub 3000lbs +500hp.

 

Exactly my point. Chevy knows it's sweet spot is between 55K and 65K. As soon as you go above that the sales drop immediately. I've seen their own research.

When you start to sell a $150k mid engine car (and that's my guess here), the sales will be lucky to reach 1000 a year.

Now if I'm a bean counter at Chevy, I'm asking WTF!

 

so is the mid vette replacing the front engine model or is it in addition to it?

 

in addition to

 

I agree that the accountants rule at this major corporations. However, GM's operating income has more than doubled in 2016 vs 2015 and is up nearly 8x 2016 vs 2014. Things are good right now. If they are going to go after a true halo car that can undisputedly compete with anything else in the world and be a relative value while doing so. Now is the time.

The bean counters may however insist on hybridization of at least one of the new halo models in order to use it as R&D for lesser future models.

Some other interesting info just poking around the internet. Chevy moved 40,689 Corvettes in 2016. Up 19% from the prior year. Z06 coupes made up a whopping 28.4% of that number. So GM moved nearly 1k Z06 coupes a month and each is priced around $80k. That's a lot for a Chevy. Z06 convertibles made up only 6.7% and those cars can creep up above $100k. $100k for a Chevy IS hard to swallow. If GM does it right though, keeps halo car production around 250 units per month, I think they'll sell them all at ~$150,000 per well optioned car. Hopefully they make a lot of the carbon fiber bits (steering wheel, seats, etc.) standard.

 

But the ZR1 was that...so is the current Ford GT, so why not?

 

Interesting. All those retired boomers wnat the bast most powerful vette.
I agree if they hybridise it will get pricey and limit the market.

Still if they can make 50K profit per car and only sella few thousand per year its still great buisness, esp as it will probablky share more than 50% of its bits with the front engined car.

At this point if they are launching in 18 sometime the project must be well under way, hard to cancel.

 

Because the investment isn't worth it in time and resources. The Ford GT s were both pr stunts.

 

I'd bet big money that the mid-engine Corvette WON'T be $150K. These numbers are just pulled out of thin air. This car (like all Corvettes) must SELL, GM is NOT in the "Look how cool I am" business. To think that GM is trying to make a Ford GT competitor is showing a lack of understanding of what the Corvette (in any version) is. Every time GM sells a $100,000 Z06, they are LOVING life. And they sell more than a few of those. But....the Corvette is STILL a VOLUME car, and no one knows that better than GM. What do you think the profitability is on a $100K C7? I guarantee it's a PILE of cash.

 

Really? Who would have guessed Ford would make the new GT at $450K before options?

 

Yep so the mid engined vette may start at 85k and go on all the way up to 150k depending on powertrain and other options.

GM is smart, they know that the front engined corvette demographic is slowly aging out and dying off. the younger crowd is buying 991s and such. The mid enginend car makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons. Nor is is it super expensive to develop. As i said before the pwertrains the suspesion, the transaxle the electronics, the uder the dash bits the hvac system in fact much of the really expensive to develop and tool stuff it will share with the front engined car.

What going to be different is the frame and plastic body. Same as a 991 and cayman share so many bits. So perhaos they have figured out how to repackage 75% of the front engined car, and get a premium for it. If youre sellign a 50K a 100K version is probably as far as you can stretch it. Stretching furtehr requires somethign different, hence the mid engiend car, plus there are numerous performance benefits, to the extent the car goes to the track or paper numbers sell..

To me its the first step in Gm developing corvette as a seperate brand, which is a great idea.
If porche can sell how many thousand +100k 991s and ferrari sells how many 488s, corvette at 85-150k can sell a fair number of cars, and thats good buisness when 75% of the parts in that car are shared with a much lower priced volume car..None of this is rocket science. There is a a lot of flexibility and shared componants in manufacturing today. Look at how many different and disparate cars are built of the vw MQB platform.

Think of the C2 vette, it got its own chassis and suspension, the fibergalss body was relatively easy and inexpensive to tool for. Everthign else came from the Gm parts bin, I dont see how the mid engined car is conceptualy any different to that.

Put a c7 on lift, its pretty easy to see how those beautuful componants can be rearranged into a mid engined layout.

 

You guys are DREAMING if you think the mid engine Vette will sell for 80K

The C7 convertible can easily reach $75K with normal options. I know -- I bought one for that 2 years ago!

 

I agree it will be over $100k, but I don't agree it will be killed off. Ford's PR stunts will ensure GM gets one too.

 

No one.
GM is not in the business of making 250 units a year (I didn't think Ford was either). So, as has been talked about ad nauseum, Tadge said 9 years ago that he could make a mid-engine car that would retail for $5K (!) more than the current car (at that point, the C6). The mid-engine car was well on it's way development wise back then, GM bankruptcy killed the program and the Corvette team ended up with $250 Million to do the C7. I would offer that anyone that thinks the mid-engine car will START at $150K doesn't understand the Corvette business model.

And while we're making bold predictions, now that the Ford GT is out and has been tested, I bet more than a few of those folks who are signed up for 3rd and 4th year production cars are re-thinking their commitment.

 

I predict mid vettes will range from $115k to $140k if they make several versions of it like they do front engine car. If only 1 mid then $125k