Mid Engine Corvette Guide To Performance

The corvette is a 2-door sports car made and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953, the Corvette is Chevrolet’s flagship car and has a huge following among car enthusiasts and buyers alike. For years since its debut, the Corvette was based as a front engine, rear wheel drive American sports car, all the way up until the C7 corvette. The corvette is also very famous for having a body made out of fiberglass, in a bid to keep the weight of the car low. It is also one of the most famous and successful sports cars in automotive history. Despite offering so much, the corvette is relatively affordable when compared to similarly performing sports cars in the segment.

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The official launch of the corvette mid-engined beast!

In 2019, The C8 Corvette was launched as a rear-mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car, which was a vast departure from its predecessors. Many enthusiasts praised the change, while others complained that it left the traditional configuration to embrace modernity. 

However, Chevrolet always wanted to make a sports car that captivated the hearts of many Americans and car enthusiasts across the globe, they captivated not only with looks, but also performance figures to match its ferocious looks. Despite the shift in design, the C8 Corvette still utilizes a V8, which is becoming increasingly rare as cars shift to smaller, turbocharged engines. The C8 uses a naturally aspirated engine, due to the fact that turbocharged engines induce turbo lag, which can be detrimental for quick throttle response, turbocharging also brings along with it a slew of reliability problems, not to mention the significant weight increase, considering that it is a mid-engine car, weight and its distribution matters quite significantly, it can make a night and day difference in handling. This attention to detail shows how much performance matters to the Corvette. 

Corvette Performance DNA

Chevrolets attention to detail for the corvette shows how much they try to incorporate a large amount of performance DNA into the machine that is arguably a masterpiece in the automotive world, constant changes, albeit small, are made every year to ensure consumers and enthusiasts have a pleasurable time, whether the corvette be cruising on the highway, or setting lap times at the track.

During the production of the C4 and C5 corvette, Chevy decided to not only have straight line speed and power, but to also focus on other performance aspects such as handling and breaking, which is why the C4 corvette had lesser power as opposed to its predecessors, but was far more aerodynamic and was very good in handling when compared to the previous generations of corvettes.  

In the late 2010s, specifically after the launch of the C7, GM and its engineers started to realize the limitations of the traditional, front engine design. That is when a plan was devised to work on a mid-engine car that would allow the corvette to handle a lot like a supercar, while keeping the same, or even improved power figures. The C8 received a naturally aspirated 6.2 Liter V8 named the LT2, this engine produced 495 horsepower and 470 lb/ft of torque when the Z51 performance package is equipped. The C8 decided to ditch the manual transmission, however many sources suggest that the Z06 variant of the C8 will sport a manual transmission. Upon the launch of the C8, reviewers very pleasantly surprised by the C8 as it superseded many expectations and proceeded to make its mark in the history books, with many reviews saying that the car had supercar like performance, most notably in the handling department. GMs gamble of developing a whole new platform most certainly paid off as the C8 marked a whole new territory for the corvette, old school enthusiasts might argue that its departure from the front engine platform was unnecessary, but GM definitely proved them wrong.

Last of its kind?

These cars are almost certainly the last of their kind, the front engine corvette won’t come back either as the C8 has proved how much better the mid engined platform is. Even if GM wanted to bring the front engined corvettes back, they would not be able to, since electrification of cars is rapidly growing, the C7 ZR1 is most likely the last front engined corvette we will ever see despite still having a large fanbase, it wouldn’t make financial sense for GM to reintroduce the front engine corvettes.

With that being said, the C8 might be the last pure ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) corvette, it is highly likely that future corvettes will include some kind of mild hybrid system to go along with the regular powertrain, with full electrification coming rapidly in the near future, these cars are truly the last of their kind.

The future of Corvette

With that being said, A 1000hp hybrid powertrain corvette is in the works, according to leaked documents, the new corvette is set to have a 5.5l powerplant, paired with two or more electric motors that will power the front wheels. The car is named The Corvette Zora, named after Zora Arkus-Duntov, the engineer who worked extensively to develop the Corvette. Two more variants of the Corvette are expected in the coming years, a 600 hp hybrid Corvette Grand Sport alongside an 850 hp Corvette Z06 which is believed to have the same twin-cam V8 which is found in the C7 ZR1. Most of these cars were expected to be launched in the 2022-24 timeframe, but the onset of Covid has put a pause on the development of these cars for now, it is expected that these cars will be now launched in 2025, it is quite a long wait, but it will be fascinating to see a hybrid, AWD Corvette with almost supercar-like performance.

It will be interesting to see how GM plays along with electrification of their cars, will they redesign the corvette again for a fully electric variant or will they jam in a battery pack into the existing platform and call it a day. The near future is certainly going to be very interesting for car manufacturers. Till then, continue to enjoy the note of the V8 engine while it still exists.