Yahoo Autos See the Mid-Engined Chevrolet Corvette C8 (in Race Form)!
This is our clearest look yet at the mid-engined Corvette C8, which has yet to be formally revealed-though what we’re actually seeing is its racing sibling, which is widely expected to be named the C8.R and to run in the IMSA WeatherTech endurance-racing series.
None of the spy photos of the street version of the upcoming mid-engined Corvette have been this clear, nor have they shown a test car with so little camouflage. While the C8.R pictured here has a more aggressive rear diffuser, center-lock wheels with fat racing tires, and a towering rear wing that likely will be exclusive to the racer, look closer and you’ll notice that the shapes of the headlights and taillights, not to mention the whole body, are pretty close to those on our most recent artist’s rendering of what the C8 should look like, and vaguely McLaren-like with its pinched tail and swooping rear fender arcs.
What we can’t see from here is the race car’s engine, which also is expected to be derived from the production C8’s late-availability twin-cam 5.5-liter V-8 with a flat-plane crankshaft. (At launch, the C8 will use a pushrod 6.2-liter V-8 borrowed from the C7.) The V-8 appears to breathe through massive boomerang-shaped intakes on both sides of the car, and it should be visible from outside the car thanks to the C8’s glass engine-bay cover. In the production vehicle, that engine will send power to the rear wheels through a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission; the C8.R race car likely will use a more fortified racing transmission.
Also in need of fortification? Our patience, while we wait for the C8 to be revealed at long last. We’ve been reporting on the mid-engined Corvette’s imminence for more than 40 years. It’s about time Chevrolet rolled this thing out. Remember, though, it won’t outright replace the front-engined C7 at first; the two Vettes will be built and sold concurrently, at least for a time.
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