Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Testing prototypes is laborious, painstaking, but also extremely rewarding. Regarding the latter aspect of the job, who would say no to driving the mid-engine Corvette on a snowy road?
Our latest set of spy photos offer the clearest look yet at the Corvette that will revolutionize the formula with supercar credentials. Pictured during cold-weather testing, the mid-engine prototype features less camouflage than previous mules and more production-ready exterior bits and pieces.
The soft-squared exhaust pipes, which are located at the extremities of the bumper instead of the center, stand out along with the dual-caliper setup for each of the rear wheels. Curiously enough, the brake rotors appear to be steel. That might have to do with keeping the starting price accessible.
On closer inspection, it’s easy to notice the roof is removable and that the LED-accented headlights are not production-spec clusters. During cornering, it’s also noticeable the steering wheel features a flat bottom design, which is appropriate for a car as sporty as the long-anticipated mid-engine Corvette.
Despite rumors according to which General Motors will take the veils off the newcomer at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, don’t get your hopes up for a debut. It’s more realistic to expect the premiere for the latter half of the current year, if not later if this bad boy is coming for the 2020 model year.
Under the hood, the mid-engine Corvette will pack 4.2 and 5.5 liters of twin-turbo V8 goodness, as well as an entry-level 6.2-liter V8. Expected to bear the name LT7, one of the two force-fed powerplants features dual overhead camshafts and lots of potential. A document from IHS Markit even suggests that the V8 that displaces 5.5 liters is good for almost 850 horsepower.
IHS Markit further expects the 4.2-liter V8 to develop something in the ballpark of 650 horsepower, which is the same level of suck-squeeze-bang-blow as the supercharged LT4 in the C7 Corvette Z06. According to the document in question, the mid-engine Corvette is codenamed Y2BC.
The soft-squared exhaust pipes, which are located at the extremities of the bumper instead of the center, stand out along with the dual-caliper setup for each of the rear wheels. Curiously enough, the brake rotors appear to be steel. That might have to do with keeping the starting price accessible.
On closer inspection, it’s easy to notice the roof is removable and that the LED-accented headlights are not production-spec clusters. During cornering, it’s also noticeable the steering wheel features a flat bottom design, which is appropriate for a car as sporty as the long-anticipated mid-engine Corvette.
Despite rumors according to which General Motors will take the veils off the newcomer at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, don’t get your hopes up for a debut. It’s more realistic to expect the premiere for the latter half of the current year, if not later if this bad boy is coming for the 2020 model year.
Under the hood, the mid-engine Corvette will pack 4.2 and 5.5 liters of twin-turbo V8 goodness, as well as an entry-level 6.2-liter V8. Expected to bear the name LT7, one of the two force-fed powerplants features dual overhead camshafts and lots of potential. A document from IHS Markit even suggests that the V8 that displaces 5.5 liters is good for almost 850 horsepower.
IHS Markit further expects the 4.2-liter V8 to develop something in the ballpark of 650 horsepower, which is the same level of suck-squeeze-bang-blow as the supercharged LT4 in the C7 Corvette Z06. According to the document in question, the mid-engine Corvette is codenamed Y2BC.
Google News