Car and Driver apparently has a little black book of notes on the next-generation, mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette, and recently published a few of the meaty bits. Even though Chevrolet is moving the required V8 to a space between the passenger and the rear wheels, The Bowtie doesn’t want the Corvette to leave the realm of affordability.
To that end, C8 body panels will be mainly fiberglass, laid over a spaceframe that’s mainly aluminum, and the initial coupe will launch with an evolution of the current 6.2-liter LT1 V8. The article says weight should be “a bit heavier than the current car’s roughly 3,500 pounds” (Chevrolet lists the base Stingray at 3,298 pounds), but horsepower should also climb to about 500, and CD expects the entry-level C8 to be quicker than an entry-level C7. The follow-up engine will be a 5.5-liter DOHC V8 with at least 600 hp that can spin its flat-plane crankshaft to 9,000 rpm, although the usable redline will be a few hundred rpm lower. Sometime after that, Chevy will roll out a twin-turbocharged version of that 5.5-liter, said to be worth around 800 hp.
Here’s where things go berserk: After an interval long enough to give the world time to appreciate Chevy’s work, CD says the carmaker will add a 200-hp electric motor to that twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8. The 200-hp electric appendage will sit up front and power the front wheels, creating a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive, all-American sports car with roughly 1,000 hp. Sold at dealerships next to the Malibu and the Trax. With a traditional carmaker warranty. Which, if it comes true, is bonkers. And then some.
Elsewhere around the car, a front end designed to inhale as much cooling air as possible will be stuffed with intercoolers, and vents under the taillights will provide escape for engine heat. Active aero devices include the C8 Corvette using the front-axle-lift system to vary the coupe’s angle of attack, and a powered spoiler will sit on the rear decklid. Tailpipes move to the edges of the rear fascia instead of being lined up in the center, and coil springs replace transverse composite leaf springs.
But there won’t be a manual. The magazine says an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox developed with Tremec will be the only shifting option.
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