Mid-Engined Corvette Looks to be a Certainty
The AutoExtremist Blog describes itself as "the bare-knuckled, unvarnished, high-octane truth" about the automotive business. Its author, Peter De Lorenzo, spent twenty two years in automotive advertising before leaving to found his blog and really tell everyone what he thinks.
Last Wednesday, De Lorenzo turned the assumptions and presumptions about the next generation Corvette on their ear with a prediction that the C7 will be mid-engined! Corvette engineers have considered the mid-engine approach time and time again. Just visit the National Corvette Museum for evidence, as mid-engined prototypes from the past smile at passersby (see example I photographed there last winter).
De Lorenzo cites anonymous top Chevrolet executives as saying that "engineering on the car is well underway"! He believes this to be a done deal! Read his (August 22, 2007) blog for all the skinny.
Among reasons mid-engined power has been green-lighted are: costs are now seen to be acceptable, Corvette's high value proposition can be maintained, Chevy has again become passionate about technological excellence, this platform could drive Corvette to the top of the 24 Hours of LeMans food chain, and the resultant view from the top would be extremely pleasant!
It is all food for thought, at the very least. My lingering question would be: will this car appeal to the hundreds of thousands of current Corvette owners? What do you think?
Thats a tough question...... hardcore fans might not want a mid-engined even though there are many advantages to mid-engine. I'm pretty sure diehard fans won't like it over what they've got now, but passive owners who just buy the Vette because of the ability to show off might not have a clear answer on it. I dunno, man. =)
It could be that the SS/Z07/Blue Devil model will push the envelope of the front engine Corvette. To take the Corvette to the next level, the mid-engine C7 may be the next logical step, given the performance of the current crop and what's around the corner. Who can blame GM to want an antedote for the venom? Looking forward to the reveal!
Reid -- Calgary, Alberta
I'm all up for a mid-engined Corvette, just as long it stays as the best bang for the buck car! If not, make the cabin more luxurious, more SPECIAL. At least do that if you can't keep the Corvette cheap.
I'll have a mid-engine C-7 in my garage, or I'll keep my C-5 as my last Corvette.
The Corvette has always been made of fiberglass, has always been rear wheel drive, and has always had the engine up front. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Turning the Corvette into a mid-engine would ruin the Corvette. If GM builds a Corvette with a mid-engine or all wheel drive like some have been saying, then the Corvette will just be another car on the road, not the one of a kind beast that it is now.
I have a C6 on order now, but if and when Chevrolet builds a mid-engine Corvette, I'll rejoice and certainly entertain a trade up to the next level in performance.
I know from driving other mid-engine sports cars that the Corvette will only get better with a mid-engine design.
I own a 2006 Lemans Blue and love it. I will likely buy a ZR-1 and If the middie comes about, I would probably buy it as I love new and challenging technology. Change is what life is about. Nothing is forever.
A mid-engined Corvette would be no faster on a track or the street. The only thing that this would do is make it more expensive.
The Z06 vette already has 50-50 weight distribution in due to a aluminum block engine mounted further down and lower back into the car which is technically better than a Gallardo's setup which is 42(front)-58(back) and a F430's setup which is 48-52.
Why put the engine in back when your front engine car is beating exotics 3-5 times the price?
What makes a Corvette a Corvette is not where the engine is but the performance for your dollar. A Mid-Engine car would serve no logical pourpose to performance or price.