Photo: Ares Modena / edited
Look beyond the quality and reliability issues, and the C8 is a truly impressive machine. A Corvette unlike any other before it due to its midship layout, the eighth generation since 1953 has an Italian cousin. The S1 comes courtesy of the peeps at Ares Modena in coupe and speedster guises.
Previously known as Ares Design, the Italian coachbuilder doesn't mention the C8 even once in marketing and press materials. It does list 6,162 cubic centimeters and 16 valves, though, along with a custom-designed exhaust system and an eight-speed transaxle.
As you can tell from the photo gallery, said exhaust features two outlets integrated into the engine cover out back. The coupe rocks gullwing-style doors, which is very exotic for a Corvette. It and the speedster feature a single wiper for the huge wraparound windshield. Out back, you'll also find a spine-like trim piece that integrates the rearview camera. Bang in the middle of the aerodynamic diffuser, an F1-style light is featured, although said light is for reversing rather than braking.
Bodied in carbon fiber, the S1 further sweetens the deal with glossy carbon-fiber vents in the front and rear fenders. Ares Modena also changed the wheels and tires for 20- and 21-inch alloys mounted with 275/30 ZR20 and 345/25 ZR1 rubber. By comparison, the Z51-equipped Stingray has 245/35 R19s and 305/30 R20s.
The brake calipers bear the company's name, albeit said calipers and rotors appear to be the stock units. Plenty of changes happened inside as well, although the push-button gear selector on the center console is unmistakably C8. The steering wheel may feature the Ares Design logo on the airbag cover and Z button, yet it's the very same steering wheel as found in the C8.
What comes as a surprise is that Ares Modena yanked out the infotainment system's landscape-oriented touchscreen in favor of a portrait touchscreen. The passenger also gets a display. According to renderings published by Ares Modena, the passenger can control the music and check out performance data on said screen.
Pricing is available only upon request, yet we do know that only 24 units of the speedster will ever be produced. Zero to 100 kilometers per hour (make that 62 miles per hour) reportedly takes 2.7 seconds, and the LT2 small block allegedly revs to 8,800 rpm. Wilder still, the naturally-aspirated V8 is advertised with 522 kW to its name. That's 700 horsepower, which is 205 more than the Stingray with the NPP exhaust. Ares Modena says that it's running bespoke engine control unit software to extract this kind of performance, which is intriguing.
Intriguing as in HP Tuners recently cracked the GM E99 ECM of the 2020-and-newer Corvette, a heavily encrypted engine control module shared with body-on-frame trucks, body-on-frame SUVs, the Cadillac CT4, and Cadillac CT5. HP Tuners can also unlock the T93 transmission module for the 10Lxx automatic, which was designed mostly by Ford in partnership with GM.
In related news, Chevrolet's very own Corvette will gain some muscle in the form of a twin-turbo setup for the LT6 engine of the Z06. The resulting LT7 will debut next year – at the earliest – in the ZR1. Think of it as the eighth-gen Corvette Z06 on steroids, flat-plane crankshaft and all. After the ZR1, the C8 will peak with a new hybrid. The Zora is believed to feature the E-Ray's front-mounted electric motor and the ZR1's twin-turbocharged mill for just around 1,000 horsepower.
As you can tell from the photo gallery, said exhaust features two outlets integrated into the engine cover out back. The coupe rocks gullwing-style doors, which is very exotic for a Corvette. It and the speedster feature a single wiper for the huge wraparound windshield. Out back, you'll also find a spine-like trim piece that integrates the rearview camera. Bang in the middle of the aerodynamic diffuser, an F1-style light is featured, although said light is for reversing rather than braking.
Bodied in carbon fiber, the S1 further sweetens the deal with glossy carbon-fiber vents in the front and rear fenders. Ares Modena also changed the wheels and tires for 20- and 21-inch alloys mounted with 275/30 ZR20 and 345/25 ZR1 rubber. By comparison, the Z51-equipped Stingray has 245/35 R19s and 305/30 R20s.
The brake calipers bear the company's name, albeit said calipers and rotors appear to be the stock units. Plenty of changes happened inside as well, although the push-button gear selector on the center console is unmistakably C8. The steering wheel may feature the Ares Design logo on the airbag cover and Z button, yet it's the very same steering wheel as found in the C8.
What comes as a surprise is that Ares Modena yanked out the infotainment system's landscape-oriented touchscreen in favor of a portrait touchscreen. The passenger also gets a display. According to renderings published by Ares Modena, the passenger can control the music and check out performance data on said screen.
Pricing is available only upon request, yet we do know that only 24 units of the speedster will ever be produced. Zero to 100 kilometers per hour (make that 62 miles per hour) reportedly takes 2.7 seconds, and the LT2 small block allegedly revs to 8,800 rpm. Wilder still, the naturally-aspirated V8 is advertised with 522 kW to its name. That's 700 horsepower, which is 205 more than the Stingray with the NPP exhaust. Ares Modena says that it's running bespoke engine control unit software to extract this kind of performance, which is intriguing.
Intriguing as in HP Tuners recently cracked the GM E99 ECM of the 2020-and-newer Corvette, a heavily encrypted engine control module shared with body-on-frame trucks, body-on-frame SUVs, the Cadillac CT4, and Cadillac CT5. HP Tuners can also unlock the T93 transmission module for the 10Lxx automatic, which was designed mostly by Ford in partnership with GM.
In related news, Chevrolet's very own Corvette will gain some muscle in the form of a twin-turbo setup for the LT6 engine of the Z06. The resulting LT7 will debut next year – at the earliest – in the ZR1. Think of it as the eighth-gen Corvette Z06 on steroids, flat-plane crankshaft and all. After the ZR1, the C8 will peak with a new hybrid. The Zora is believed to feature the E-Ray's front-mounted electric motor and the ZR1's twin-turbocharged mill for just around 1,000 horsepower.
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