I've struggled with this blog for weeks now because I'm conflicted by this car. On one hand, I applaud the engineering marvel that it is but because it's now "mid-engined", I have difficulty calling it a "Corvette". Perhaps that's just abhorrent to change me but it begs the question, what is a Corvette? To me, inasmuch as I define a Porsche as a two passenger, rear drive, rear engine sports car, Corvettes are front engine, two passenger, rear drive sports cars. Or, sadly, what they used to be. Then again, to the majority of buyers, they're going to care less where the engine is in the car. Especially younger buyers who don't have the decades of experience with Corvettes that someone of my age does.
To me, what they're calling the "C8" (eighth generation) Corvette is not unlike Porsche purists blowing a head gasket over the late, great, front engine 928. Sure, it was built by Porsche, but to the Porsche Nation the 928 was heresy and stoked fears the days of air cooled, six cylinder, rear engine Porsche glory were over when they introduced it back in 1977. I was too young at the time to fully understand how heretical the 928 was but I get that now seeing what GM has done to the Corvette.
What's the big deal? Well, we first have to understand what a seismic difference this car is compared to the previous seven generations. With the engine now mounted directly behind the driver, "a midship", with the greatest mass of the vehicle in the middle of the car its handling capabilities are maximized. At least on paper; no documented track testing of the car has been published yet. And having gunned a mid engine Ferrari around a racetrack, I can tell you that driving a powerful mid-engined car is a surreal experience. With catapult like acceleration and running on what feels like the world's most loving and nurturing train rails, the only thing that stops you from driving to the moon is your better judgment.
So, why after all these years did GM finally do what St. Zora (Duntov) advocated over fifty years ago? Who the hell knows for sure but from what I can surmise, engineers at GM claimed that they couldn't make a rear drive car any better than the previous generation. To improve upon Corvette, they needed to blow the whole thing up. And look at all the publicity the C8 has garnered. Incredible. I haven't seen this much Corvette chatter since the introduction of the 1984 model (C4). Had this been just another "new Corvette" it probably would have gone by the wayside like the introductions of the sixth and seventh generations of Corvette did. Seriously, those cars when new went by in a literal and figurative blurr with nary a person noticing. Why? Because they looked liked C5 styling updates rather than being truly different looking. Ok. Maybe the C7 was a bit of a styling game changer but I thought it was as ugly as I think this one might be.
I wish GM had followed through with plans they had rumored to have had years ago where they were going to spin off Corvette as a separate make from Chevrolet and sell it through Chevrolet or even Cadillac dealerships. That way they could introduce a mid-engined model like this and still have a god's green earth, front engine model as the flag ship. Or still hold onto one like Porsche did when they kept the the old school, rear engine 911's around after they put the 928 at the top of their totem pole.
I want to like this car but part of me thinks it's butt ugly. And I'm hearing and much of the same sentiment too from car scribes. I'll know for sure the instant I see one in person but because of some wonky and dare I say overly derivative styling details, at least in pictures, my jury is out. In fairness, all mid-engined cars have a familial resemblance but the C8's rear end and sail panels are too fat and overall it looks too much like a C7; again, a car which I was not a fan of. I prefer the curvaceous lines of the C6. Then again, I think C3's are the best looking C's of them all so what do I know.
That said, I'd love to get a C8 out on the track and have my way with it. But, do I have to call it a "Corvette"?
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