Photo: Street Production 303 on YouTube
Expected to start production in December 2019 after the world premiere in the summer, the C8 Corvette is the most anticipated American car of the moment. Changing from front- to mid-engine isn’t exactly easy for General Motors according to Hagerty.
First of all, the engineers were given a headache by an electrical architecture with “100 or more computer modules per vehicle.” In the C8 Corvette, some of those electric parts failed, forcing the development team back to square one.
The second issue is even more aggravating by comparison. “Structural distortion of the aluminum spaceframe experienced during testing” is another way of saying the frame bends under acceleration. Hagerty highlights the prototype in question was equipped with the 900 to 1,000 horsepower V8 with hybrid assistance, which is a lot by Corvette standards.
Based in Traverse City, Michigan, the insurance agency specialized in collector cars also understands “the twist in the back was enough to fracture the glass hatch covering the engine.” A third issue was brought to Hagerty’s attention, but no specific details have been revealed in this regard.
Previously expected to debut in Detroit in January and Geneva in March, the C8 Corvette is now estimated to go live in Bowling Green, Kentucky towards the end of August 2019. The race track near the production plant could host the first drives and rides you’d expect from General Motors, but nevertheless, don’t forget this comes as speculation for the time being.
Opposite to the hybridized, twin-turbo V8 at the top of the range, the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 will start in the ballpark of $60,000, maybe $70,000. Codenamed LT2, the entry-level engine is understood to be an evolution of the LT1 in the C7 Corvette with more aggressive valve timing.
The bad news? “The one and only transmission will be a seven-speed dual-clutch, paddle-shifted automatic supplied by Tremec.” The TR-9007 in the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 could be it, rated at up to 900 Nm (664 pound-feet) according to the Wixom, Michigan-based company.
The second issue is even more aggravating by comparison. “Structural distortion of the aluminum spaceframe experienced during testing” is another way of saying the frame bends under acceleration. Hagerty highlights the prototype in question was equipped with the 900 to 1,000 horsepower V8 with hybrid assistance, which is a lot by Corvette standards.
Based in Traverse City, Michigan, the insurance agency specialized in collector cars also understands “the twist in the back was enough to fracture the glass hatch covering the engine.” A third issue was brought to Hagerty’s attention, but no specific details have been revealed in this regard.
Previously expected to debut in Detroit in January and Geneva in March, the C8 Corvette is now estimated to go live in Bowling Green, Kentucky towards the end of August 2019. The race track near the production plant could host the first drives and rides you’d expect from General Motors, but nevertheless, don’t forget this comes as speculation for the time being.
Opposite to the hybridized, twin-turbo V8 at the top of the range, the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 will start in the ballpark of $60,000, maybe $70,000. Codenamed LT2, the entry-level engine is understood to be an evolution of the LT1 in the C7 Corvette with more aggressive valve timing.
The bad news? “The one and only transmission will be a seven-speed dual-clutch, paddle-shifted automatic supplied by Tremec.” The TR-9007 in the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 could be it, rated at up to 900 Nm (664 pound-feet) according to the Wixom, Michigan-based company.
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