mid engine corvette qtr panels leaked photo

Bob Lutz comments about the C8 are interesting:
https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2019/06/25/bob-lutz-thinks-the-corvette-brand-needs-a-performance-suv/?fbclid=IwAR1lr2fRCZR8cqjan18A06rc7PdSUZeY8u01sJ6liBzgxhuZwKOZ5XqGRik

 

^^^^
Count me as a NON fan of Bob Lutz. His tenure at GM was anything but stellar. And now, he's viewed as some kind of guru, but this is the same guy that gave us the Solstice/Sky, the Pontiac GTO, the Chevrolet Volt, etc...
He's good at writing books telling everyone everything that someone else did wrong...he's a "product" guy....was GM's product any better under his tenure?

 

A Corvette SUV is just another GM Hummer with another name that came and then went away quietly years ago.

 

I agree with him 100%

 

I think "performance" SUV's are stupid.

 

I beg to differ.
My Alfa Stelvio is awesome, IMHO.

 

Yep, except the C5 with no engine in the back, rear was big, the C6 with no engine in the back, rear was big, the C7 with no engine in the back, rear was big.

They had problems with design without an engine, I'm not very confident they will stike gold with this obstacle. Hell, I think Ferrari screwed it up on a few of their cars as well. Additionally, all car just keep getting bigger and bigger. Saw a 599 GTO next to a Boxer recently it looked like an SUV next to an MG.

 

Same.

 

Not to mention, that’s what is selling.

Had this discussion with a family member over the Beatles. He was not a fan, but my argument back was you can’t deny their influence, sales, and chart success.

Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it’s stupid. Sure, GM has done some stupid things, but Porsche proved everyone wrong with the Cayenne (including me, who once thought it was “stupid” too).

This is all about making money - that’s it. The Corvette brand (not just the cars, the brand itself) generates BIG bucks for GM, so extending it makes a hell of a lot of sense.

 

Here’s an interesting tidbit from a former Corvette engineer regarding the C8
https://jimmero.com/mid-engine-c8-corvette-jims-response/

 

Mr Mero is a driver with lots of talent so you can't fault his logic. Not sure I agree with his assessment of weight distribution as 35 percent on the front seems a tad light. Supposedly understeer is the issue; dial in too much and the talented drivers won't like the C8. Dial in too little and there will be a lot of damage to hedges and other agricultural exploration.

 

most people are unable to separate their opinion from fact

 

I feel cars should have specialized purposes. I like my performance cars, small, agile and light; my SUV a rock crawler; my truck a stump pulling tow rig loaded down with tools; and my sedan a luxurious floating cloud. That is opinion.

A performance SUV is neither a good SUV nor a good performance car. That is fact.


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All true, and the ride on a Cayenne turbo is beyond punishing. too me the cardinal sin in an suv is poor ride. Yet there is a huge market for SUV's its what people buy and within that a real premium market for a "performance suv", which is an oxymoron.

The whole suv and for that matter performance car market reminds me of the old add line, "not that you would, but you could." people love to buy potential performance, implicit performance, performance theyl never really use but love knowing they have and can display, look at wrangler sales, or whgo buys a Gwagen, or the slew of new ferraris. 99% of buyers have no idea about good vs bad ride, steering feel, or any number of other attributes. thats why BMW can make some really crappy cars, but sell them anyway on past reputation, and its why volvo is able to grow sales with dynamicaly near dangerous cars.

Occasionaly a manufactuerer produces a real gem, almost by accident, or perhaps thats the team that was left alone.

Back to the vette, its been hampered as a"performance car" by being asked to do a lot of other things too. In the end fitting two golf bags and being easy to drive tot he club is at least as important for the customer base as the numbers. Its all compromise. One of the great parts of a vette is its also a mass manufactuerers prduct, so Ac really works and it has to be able to got he distance. Lambo can get away with things vette cant. But then the porche 911 does it all too. Hopefully we see a similar plethora of vette varuants. And if porche can use excess suv profits for makign great 911s, Im all for vette doing the same.

Does anyone who buys any of the other chevy products(except maybe camaro whic is going away) really ever considder a vette, are they potential vette buyers, barely so. I think vette is a great standalone brand or chevy subrand, and seperating it from volume sections of chevy stores will have a near zero effect on the chevy customer base. Yet it seems such a great opportunity for GM. Caddy can go all SUV, and one or two big sedans, Chevy the cheaper end, and vette is the performanec range with v spec sedans, sportscars camaro fe and me vette and maybe an suv for some extra dross profit.

Vette is probably GMs best brand, not only untarnished the one actualy held in high regard. As long as they dont produce badge enginered crap, it could be a reall profit centre and a sign of real leadership. The reason its untarnished is it has focus, is the product of a relaytively small team who know what theyre doing. Therein lays the rub, a bigger vette portfolio would be the subject of GM meddling. But if vette can be rleatively stadalone, using Gm bits as porche is standalone in VW, then its a winner.

 

Und in Deutsche

 

Translation:

A Porsche its not.

 

i love my ML63AMG.

 

Or a C8 for that matter....

 

I agree. A Corvette SUV, Corvette sedan, or Corvette anything other than sports car dilutes the brand. GM has plenty of flags, they don’t need to combine focus. Doing so is just whoring out the Corvette name. It’s not that great of a name to begin with (coming from a “Vette guy”). It doesn’t need to be cheapened any further.


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Ain’t nothing wrong with that. Different strokes......


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Something to consider here. Now that we know the Camaro is going to die again, that leaves few sedans/coupes in the Chevy lineup. You know Ford killed off all cars except the Mustang and everything else is SUV/trucks. I could see Chevy having only the Corvette as its car and everything else being SUV/trucks too. As for a corvette SUV, I don't think that will work and hurt corvette brand. If you want a performance SUV let Cadillac do it since the Escalade is already $100k. Nothing wrong with a V series Escalade. Just a thought that will leave the C8 as its own thing.

 

To me Chevy should take Corvette and make it its own brand

Discontinue the Camaro and make a new 2+2 GT to compete with Mustang under Corvette brand. Then make a performance SUV like BMW and Porsche. The Porsche SUV is their BEST SELLER! I don't think it hurt their brand at all.

Maybe saying the Camaro is at it's end is the beginning of that. I'm sure Chevy wishes it had the Mustang's sales numbers. And, the latest Gt500 is a pretty awesome machine at a very high price for that brand.

Then extend the Corvette sports cars into different prices and performance including an all electric version like Tesla is proposing.

Adapt to the changing market or DIE.

 

To do as you suggest means there would need to be a FE C8 to compete with mustang. Another thing to consider is when Camaro is gone what will Chevy do with Nascar?

 

On one hand good plan, on the other Gm has this habbit of coping out and cheapening whats good. The odds of them adding poorly executed badge enginbeered covette setrandans and suvs's is greater than the odds of then adding well eginered fitting corvette cars and suv's.
Between theory and practice (esp in the premium sporty space) lays a chasm, one Gm shows little ability to execute.

Its a great plan, Lutz you and others are correct. Even Ferrai not to mention Aston are following it. Porche has followed this plan for years. But a camel is a horse designed by a comitee, and the corvette brand as executed by GM.... Frankly were lucks that this anomoly called corvette exists, and that GM brass leaves it semi autonous now to produce some really good cars..

 

Best views yet - interior shots, sounds, etc.

I hear turbos, DCT, V8??