Information about the upcoming modification of the eighth generation Chevrolet Corvette supercar was leaked to the Network. Huge plans, but at the same time GM does not intend to part with the ancient lower-level V8 – it also awaits hybridization.
The birth of the mid-engined Corvette was long and painful: the development of the vehicle took ten years, during which the GM management more than once intended to curtail the project. The official premiere took place last summer, but due to a long strike by workers dissatisfied with the restructuring plan of the corporation, production at the factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, started only in February this year, and was supposed to begin before the end of last year. Dubai opens two new ambulances: Chevrolet Corvette and Nissan GT-R
In early April, the release had to be stopped due to the spread of the coronavirus infection COVID-19 in the United States, and at the moment, only about 2700 eighth-generation sports cars with a targ body have hit the market. At the same time, the first customers were unpleasantly surprised by flaws in the quality of the assembly of the cabin, which GM, apparently, would eliminate as part of the recall after the removal of quarantine restrictions.
Then release of Corvette will resume, while the version with a convertible body, presented in October last year, most likely, this year they will not have time to put on the conveyor.
In general, while the fate of the Corvette C8 is developing so-so. But if life after the epidemic gets better, the American supercar will delight its fans with a lot of interesting innovations. They became known to Hagerty magazine from the internal mailing list of Michelle Brown, Executive Director of Purchasing Operations GM, in which she notified suppliers of the suspension of work on all key projects due to coronavirus. The document contained a timeline for future Corvette modifications and their key technical specifications.
So, from the leak it follows that by the 2022 model year (that is, actually until the end of 2021), the Z06 modification should be prepared, which has the place of the base 6.2-liter 16-valve lower-pressure V8 LT2 (502 hp, 637 Nm) will take a more modern 5.5-liter V8 LT6 with overhead camshafts and 32 valves. Its return is 659 hp and 813 Nm.
By the 2023 model year, a hybrid Corvette Grand Sport is expected based on (attention!) The old LT2. An electric motor is likely to be placed between the engine and gearbox. The total output of the power plant will be 608 hp. and 678 Nm. Mitsuoka Rock Star, a Mazda MX-5 inspired by the Chevrolet Corvette for Japan
By the model year 2024, the Corvette ZR1 will appear with a supercharged version of the 5.5-liter V8. Such a unit will receive the designation LT7. With the help of two turbochargers (before, by the way, mechanical superchargers were installed on the engines of the top versions of the Corvette), the maximum output will increase to 862 hp. and 1119 Nm. Tremec is already developing a new automatic gearbox capable of digesting such gigantic torque.
Finally, the most sophisticated version of the Corvette Zora, so named in honor of the developer of the very first Corvette Zakharia (Zora) Arkus-Duntova, will arrive by the model year 2025. It will be a hybrid based on a supercharged LT7, delivering a maximum of 1014 hp. and 1322 Nm. What the layout scheme will be in this case, one can only guess, and it is possible that the Zora will be the first Corvette all-wheel drive in history – in any case, the C8 has a place to place electric motors on the front axle, but in this case it will have to be from the trunk in the nose refuse.
It is clear that in the light of the new coronavirus reality, all these plans are written with a pitchfork on water, but, as usual, we will hope for the best.