2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray

Yea, I don't think that's going to happen. For a mid-engine 500hp Vette (I would wager the base model will be around 550 though unless they lighten it compared to the C7), there is no way they will start at $62k (which would be the $5k over the base C7).
 
For a mid-engine 500hp Vette (I would wager the base model will be around 550 though unless they lighten it compared to the C7), there is no way they will start at $62k
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Yeah, there's no chance whatsoever of it being that cheap.
 
It's exciting because it's different and something new, but I still feel it's completely pointless and an utter waste of time and resources.

That aside, I'd hate to be the schmuck buying any of them for the first couple years. GM has an alarmingly consistent trend of screwing the Corvettes (especially their top models) up in a major way until fixing them a few years later. Sure, lots of manufacturers do that, but now that they've changed the entire layout/chassis and redesigned the whole thing? Oh boy. :lol:
 
Mahjik said:
What's not to be interested in? If they really can pull off a mid-engine sports car with decent power for under a $100k, that would be something to be interested in.
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Just curious what someone genuinely interested in the car sees appealing, anything specific.

Platform (front engine vs mid engine) has always been largely irrelevant to me, so it's something I don't really get. It just seems like a whole lot of development time and money for no reason. It's not like they were even close to the peak of front engine. Every couple years the Vette's were getting faster and faster, with no end in sight. Hell, two of the fastest track cars you can get (911 GT2 and Viper ACR) aren't mid-engine either. The 911 has the engine hanging off the ass and destroys everything.

So...curiosity. ;)
 
Even Porsche has moved the 911 engine so for forward it's not really rear mounted any more. It's basically now mounted about the same location as the Ferrari's and Alfa 4C's. They had to do it as their race cars just couldn't compete with the mid-engine Ferrari (and their race version is even more forward than the road car which has caused some stir).

There is no question that mid-engine is a better platform. GM wouldn't spend the money to try to build a similar platform if there wasn't a performance benefit to it.
 
Mahjik said:
Even Porsche has moved the 911 engine so for forward it's not really rear mounted any more. It's basically now mounted about the same location as the Ferrari's and Alfa 4C's. They had to do it as their race cars just couldn't compete with the mid-engine Ferrari (and their race version is even more forward than the road car which has caused some stir).

There is no question that mid-engine is a better platform. GM wouldn't spend the money to try to build a similar platform if there wasn't a performance benefit to it.
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I knew the race cars had a highly modified engine position (a lot of them do), but I thought the street car was still far enough back it wasn't really mid engine. I'll have to look into it.

Mid engine is unquestionably a better platform. There are still cars that handle phenomenally better than most of the mid engine competition. I don't think the Viper ACR can be considered mid engine, or the ZR1. The real shame is we'll never know how much faster it is. It's guaranteed to be another marginal step forward in performance, as every Corvette generation and subsequent model in each generation has been. There was no sign of slowing down in how fast a front engine platform was going to be. The handling characteristics are sure to change, and that's likely going to be the biggest difference.
 
The Viper and Vette were increasing their lap times with power and aero, not handling. Sure they did have to make sure the car could handle the power, but the cornering speeds aren't the same as compared to mid-engine cars. Both the ACR and ZR1 have rear wings to help it stay on the track. You don't see OEM Ferrari's with wings to hold them on the track. ;) They don't require them as much as the ACR and ZR1 due to being better balanced in the corners. Having driven just about all configurations in anger on a track, I can tell you that mid-engine cars are sublime in the corners. You don't require as much aero and you don't require as much tire.

As for the 911, I did exaggerate the current 911 a little, but they have moved the engine more forward with the 991. The upcoming 992 has moved the engine about 6.5 inches even more than the 991 did. Their mid-engine race 911 has shown the overall benefits of the mid-engine platform, but they won't change the consumer 911 that drastically as they want to try to keep it as true to heritage as possible (and they already have the Cayman). They have stated they will never make it truly mid-engine.

Yes, even the race Corvette is technically mid-engine, as they pushed the engine back behind the front axles.
 
Yeah, I knew about the Porsche and Vette engines being moved around for racing. I'm just talking strictly street cars, like the ACR/ZR1/GT2. I'm not sure if they moved the GT2 engine much, never looked into the details.

Good point on the aero, that makes all the difference in the world. It'll be interesting to see what it does, that's for sure. That...and the price.

I guess a good comparison would be the McLaren 720 and Huracan Performante. Both are incredibly fast in the corners and do it without significant aero added. The Huracan has a spoiler, but nothing like the ZR1, ACR, or GT2. The 720S also has much smaller tires.
 
All the benefits the race cars have for mid-engine design are the same for street cars. ;) It's just expensive to do so they have to determine if there is a true business justification for it. IMO, I think cars like the Alfa 4C has pushed GM into their direction. They were fine having cars like Ferrari and McLaren doing their thing at 3-4x their price. However, Alfa with the 4C, IMO brings a different dynamic to the US sports car market. I could see a real concern, especially if they come out with a Quadrifoglio version of the 4C which has been rumored.

I also believe GM doesn't want to continue to appear to be only a "North American" company. To be accepted more globally, they have to be more "with the times". I don't know if you remember when (the original) Top Gear did the Corvette and they complained about the dated suspension. If they want to be considered globally along side the manufacturers they are racing against, they have to up their game. This might do it.
 
Mahjik said:
All the benefits the race cars have for mid-engine design are the same for street cars. ;)
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Of course, why wouldn't that be the case? We've already addressed this on the street cars above, when I didn't consider aero.

Interesting notes on the 4C. I've never heard or seen it discussed anywhere, ever. Where do you see it's making such a big impact that it's convincing manufacturers to do something different?

I remember the old Top Gear, and can see the point t that was being made. In the end, for me, it all comes back to end result. If the finished product is matching or beating the competition, it doesn't really matter if the existing layout or hardware is ancient...it's still on a competitive level. Sounds to me like the other guys need to step up their game if a Ruddy ol' Corvette on leaf springs is still remaining competitive. Just different takes on it. Of course, that's not what sells cars. Re-inventing the wheel every generation with fancy engineering and electronics is what sells cars.
 
In the end, you can't just keep adding more power to make something faster and then using "tricks" like dropping out cylinders to try get decent gas mileage numbers for the books. You have to innovate or fall behind. People aren't into big heavy engines as they once were and people are more conscious about gas prices (and many states now have "gas guzzler" taxes). They can do more with a mid-engine platform without having to have a crap ton of engine power and without it costing a kidney. That's exactly what the 4C demonstrated.
 
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