Photo: Hanbindesign on Instagram
Remember those photos of General Motors testing a Holden ute in America, covered in camouflage? Development of the C8 Corvette started in 2013 with the Maloo from Australia, a small-block V8, and the PDK from Porsche instead of the Tremec dual-clutch transmission, making for a rather crude Frankencar.
Six years later, the C8 Corvette rolled out in 2019 for the 2020 model year with the engine in the middle. This may be seen as a challenge to European exotica, but the truth is that General Motors was fully aware that the layout had to change.
The higher-ups and engineers both agreed that the C7 is probably the pinnacle of the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Corvette. Changing the motor’s location behind the driver’s and passenger’s ears translates to a different weight distribution, and this helps the American sports car put the power down better than before.
Zora Arkus-Duntov, known as the Father of the Corvette even though Harley Earl invented it, is the Belgian-American engineer who advocated for a midship since the 1950s. The CERV I or Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle One is the earliest hint of a mid-engine Corvette.
The Aerovette concept could have morphed into the C4 Corvette if the 1973 Oil Crisis didn’t happen. Because of the automaker’s reluctance to go mid-engined in these circumstances, Zora quit GM out of frustration and Dave McLellan settled for a front-engine C4 Corvette in his place.
The question is, will General Motors ever revert to the more traditional front-engine layout? The answer to that is definitely no, not after the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit spent so much money to develop the midship platform and new powerplants. But had there been a different leader of the design team, maybe the C8 would’ve looked similar to this rendering here.
Penned by Faraday Future lead exterior designer and custom car builder Hanbin Youn - a.k.a. Hanbindesign - this reinterpretation of the mid-engine ‘Vette isn’t too shabby given the supercar-ish proportions and aggressive front end. As for the rear deck, the edges are complemented by Gurney flaps instead of the Z51 Performance Package-style rear wing of the real C8.
In hindsight, Tom Peters did a wonderful job with the eighth generation of the breed. The exterior designer of the C8 retired from General Motors in the spring of 2019 after almost four decades at GM. He started out in the Advance Design Studio, and Peters is also credited for penning the C6 and giving the green light to Hwasup Lee for the C7.
The higher-ups and engineers both agreed that the C7 is probably the pinnacle of the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Corvette. Changing the motor’s location behind the driver’s and passenger’s ears translates to a different weight distribution, and this helps the American sports car put the power down better than before.
Zora Arkus-Duntov, known as the Father of the Corvette even though Harley Earl invented it, is the Belgian-American engineer who advocated for a midship since the 1950s. The CERV I or Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle One is the earliest hint of a mid-engine Corvette.
The Aerovette concept could have morphed into the C4 Corvette if the 1973 Oil Crisis didn’t happen. Because of the automaker’s reluctance to go mid-engined in these circumstances, Zora quit GM out of frustration and Dave McLellan settled for a front-engine C4 Corvette in his place.
The question is, will General Motors ever revert to the more traditional front-engine layout? The answer to that is definitely no, not after the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit spent so much money to develop the midship platform and new powerplants. But had there been a different leader of the design team, maybe the C8 would’ve looked similar to this rendering here.
Penned by Faraday Future lead exterior designer and custom car builder Hanbin Youn - a.k.a. Hanbindesign - this reinterpretation of the mid-engine ‘Vette isn’t too shabby given the supercar-ish proportions and aggressive front end. As for the rear deck, the edges are complemented by Gurney flaps instead of the Z51 Performance Package-style rear wing of the real C8.
In hindsight, Tom Peters did a wonderful job with the eighth generation of the breed. The exterior designer of the C8 retired from General Motors in the spring of 2019 after almost four decades at GM. He started out in the Advance Design Studio, and Peters is also credited for penning the C6 and giving the green light to Hwasup Lee for the C7.
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