Photo: cardesignworld / Instagram
Born no less than 70 years ago, in 1953, the legendary Chevrolet Corvette has achieved an all-time cult status throughout its eight iterations that have helped it become universally known as 'America's sports car.' But what if the future is even more exotic than anyone would have guessed?
Initially, the Corvette was noted throughout the years for its distinctive styling, the use of advanced materials like lightweight fiberglass or composite bodywork, very competitive pricing for its status as a two-door, two-seat luxury sports car, as well as its performance. Sure, many European car fans noted that even though it serves as Chevrolet's halo car, it still does not live up to expectations imposed by Old Continent peers on many occasions.
Just as many American enthusiasts noted, this was all because it didn't have the same mid-engine format, instead relying on the age-old front engine plus RWD strategy to prevail – mostly with help from big 'there's no replacement for displacement' V8 engines. Well, that suddenly changed for the better when Team Corvette was allowed – at long last – by GM's corner office head honchos to fiddle with our expectations. As such, the C8 Corvette is notable for Chevrolet's switch to a rear-mid-engine RWD ethos starting with the 490 or 495-hp Stingray variant with a new (but still massive) 6.2-liter LT2 V8.
They were quite successful in their endeavor to reinvent the iconic 'Vette, and we mean that as a major understatement. As such, no one should be surprised by the swift arrival of the Z06 homologation model, which rocks a 670-hp 5.5-liter LT6 flat-plane crank DOHC V8 as the record-breaking surprise for anyone who dares to interrupt its quarter-mile dragstrip ETs or quick circuit laps. With that, in just two swift moves, 'America's sports car' moved to the long-awaited 'Ferrari-killer' status. But wait, as there is more, so much more.
Now there's also a first-ever electrified Corvette E-Ray packing 655 hp from the same LT2 V8 aided by an electric motor to make it the quickest 'Vette in the quarter-mile (10.5s) and sprint (zero to 60 mph/96 kph in 2.5s) categories.
The future is also brighter than ever, as the rumor mill cannot get enough of the spied prototypes that make us all dream of glory tales revolving around 850-hp ZR1 and 1,000-hp electrified Zora models. And that's all in the real world, so anything that the imaginative realm of digital car content creators needs to be times bonkers than this alleged hypercar status of upcoming Corvettes already is.
No worries, General Motors itself found the answer to that. So, just recently, the good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media) tipped us off to artist YisiyuanLi's bachelor thesis in car design – which is a Chevy Corvette Stingray 'Roadster' project. Alas, that's no ordinary Stingray, and certainly not your run-of-the-mill open-top, either.
Instead, what we are dealing with here is a futuristic vision of the C9 or C10 Corvette that seeks to take the 'Ferrari-killer' stance to the next level by offering a purpose-built answer to the Ferrari Monza SP series. And no, the pixel master wasn't targeting the SP2 limited production sports car but rather its single-seater SP1 sibling of the Icona series! And just in case the endeavor of a near-future Corvette Stingray with just one seat and no windshield is too good to be true, here's also proof in the gallery from cardesignworld of how this project attracted GM China's attention, which sponsored the theme and even built it as a scale model!
Just as many American enthusiasts noted, this was all because it didn't have the same mid-engine format, instead relying on the age-old front engine plus RWD strategy to prevail – mostly with help from big 'there's no replacement for displacement' V8 engines. Well, that suddenly changed for the better when Team Corvette was allowed – at long last – by GM's corner office head honchos to fiddle with our expectations. As such, the C8 Corvette is notable for Chevrolet's switch to a rear-mid-engine RWD ethos starting with the 490 or 495-hp Stingray variant with a new (but still massive) 6.2-liter LT2 V8.
They were quite successful in their endeavor to reinvent the iconic 'Vette, and we mean that as a major understatement. As such, no one should be surprised by the swift arrival of the Z06 homologation model, which rocks a 670-hp 5.5-liter LT6 flat-plane crank DOHC V8 as the record-breaking surprise for anyone who dares to interrupt its quarter-mile dragstrip ETs or quick circuit laps. With that, in just two swift moves, 'America's sports car' moved to the long-awaited 'Ferrari-killer' status. But wait, as there is more, so much more.
Now there's also a first-ever electrified Corvette E-Ray packing 655 hp from the same LT2 V8 aided by an electric motor to make it the quickest 'Vette in the quarter-mile (10.5s) and sprint (zero to 60 mph/96 kph in 2.5s) categories.
The future is also brighter than ever, as the rumor mill cannot get enough of the spied prototypes that make us all dream of glory tales revolving around 850-hp ZR1 and 1,000-hp electrified Zora models. And that's all in the real world, so anything that the imaginative realm of digital car content creators needs to be times bonkers than this alleged hypercar status of upcoming Corvettes already is.
No worries, General Motors itself found the answer to that. So, just recently, the good folks over at Car Design World (aka cardesignworld on social media) tipped us off to artist YisiyuanLi's bachelor thesis in car design – which is a Chevy Corvette Stingray 'Roadster' project. Alas, that's no ordinary Stingray, and certainly not your run-of-the-mill open-top, either.
Instead, what we are dealing with here is a futuristic vision of the C9 or C10 Corvette that seeks to take the 'Ferrari-killer' stance to the next level by offering a purpose-built answer to the Ferrari Monza SP series. And no, the pixel master wasn't targeting the SP2 limited production sports car but rather its single-seater SP1 sibling of the Icona series! And just in case the endeavor of a near-future Corvette Stingray with just one seat and no windshield is too good to be true, here's also proof in the gallery from cardesignworld of how this project attracted GM China's attention, which sponsored the theme and even built it as a scale model!
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