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Mid-Engine Corvette Rumored to Be Offered Only With Dual-Clutch Transmission

For the model year 2019, the Chevrolet Corvette will switch over to the eight generation. It still is uncertain whether the C8 Corvette will come as a mid-engine supercar or if Chevrolet is planning on offering front- and mid-engine models in parallel, but it's a given that the golden bowtie is testing a mid-engine mule.
2019 Chevrolet Corvette mid-engine prototype 24 photos
Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
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In this episode of “Idle Talk From the Rumor Mill,” it has come to our attention that the mid-engine Corvette won’t be available with a stick shift. No manual transmission is a big no-no for a Corvette, but then again, morphing from front-engine to midship catapults the Chevrolet Corvette in the hard-knock life of supercars. As per a speculative story published by Car & Driver, a Tremec-built dual-clutch automatic transmission seems like a safe bet.

According to the cited motoring publication, “the prodigy from these two parental units is Tremec’s TR-9007 family of dual-clutch automatics that can be assembled in rear-drive, all-wheel-drive, and transaxle configurations. Prototypes of the mid-engine 2019 Chevrolet Corvette in light camouflage captured by our photographers are evidence of the testing for drivability and durability of the Tremec transaxles slated for customer delivery in 2018."

There’s a little detail that bothers me about this choice of words, as in the spy photographs Car & Driver is talking about. Since the first set and till the newest spy shot gallery, the mid-engine Corvette has never shown its underbody or its interior. Hence, it’s impossible to say for certain if a Tremec dual-clutch automatic is in the offing for the mid-engine Corvette.

Stepping up from sports car to supercar status implies great expectations from the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette in centrally-mounted engine form. And to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, the future flagship of Chevy needs a dual-clutch tranny to shift cogs as fast as possible.

On an ending note, didn’t Chevrolet say that the 10-speed auto in the Camaro ZL1 is faster than Porsche’s PDK? If a slushbox is marketed as shifting quicker than a dual-clutch, then what’s the purpose of going dual-clutch for the mid-engine Corvette? Considering that we’re still a long way from seeing the midship Corvette in the flesh, anything can happen until then.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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