TUSTIN, Calif. _ In what was possibly one of the worst kept secrets in the auto industry, Chevrolet unveiled the eighth generation of the 2020 Corvette Stingray last week at an old blimp hangar in California. Was this a corporate comment on the old car's engineering?
Nevertheless, the new Stingray is stunning, and its redesign to a mid-engine configuration places the engine behind the driver, rather than in front. This allows Chevrolet to put 60 percent of the car's weight over the rear axle, not unlike Ferrari. It's a historic change for the 66-year-old marque.
The new configuration allows GM to increase the car's performance, something that was no longer possible with the seventh generation's front engine, rear drive configuration. The new layout is similar to the one used by racecars and supercars, and has long been sought after by the car's engineers, including GM engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, long considered thee father of the Corvette. In fact, GM had been planning to switch to a mid-engine layout at the turn of the century, but the company's trip into Chapter 11 bankruptcy put such plans on the back burner.
"We've been thinking about this for a long time," said Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter. "So it looks like it was a snap decision, but it wasn't."
Powering the new Corvette is GM's classic small-block 6.2-liter V-8 that produces 495 horsepower through a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. For the first time since 1982, a manual transmission will not be offered. The new transmission has a very low first gear to get the car off the line quickly. Gears two through six to keep the engine near the power peak for the track, while tall seventh and eighth gears allow for relaxed cruising. The Z51 Performance Package returns as well, with performance tires, larger brakes, an electronic limited slip differential, more aggressive gearing in the transmission, additional cooling capacity, and a front splitter and rear spoiler.
With the Performance Package, the new Corvette is running 0-60 mph in less than three seconds. Still, creating such a mid-engine car was a challenge, according to chief engineer Juechter.
"Honestly, we didn't have a good example inside the company," he said. "GM has done Pontiac Fiero and the Corvair before that. There wasn't any intrinsic tribal knowledge on how to do a car like this."
But the new layout meant adding power was easy.
"Putting the engine in the back frees up the intake and exhaust paths. Think about it, when the engine is in the front, the engine is pushed right up against the front of the dash, so there's no place to go rearwards. So we have to pinch the exhaust, to snake it through and get it to the tunnel." That's not longer the case with the engine in the rear of the car. And the engine has been art directed, as its beautiful design is visible though the rear window.
And the car is filled with thoughtful touches. There's a Z-mode button that allows the driver to customize the car's settings and activate them with this button. A high-definition front video camera works in concert with the performance data recorder for point-to-point recordings; perfect for days at the track. There's even a front lift system that raises the nose up to two inches so you won't scrape the front end while parking. It's also GPS-enabled, and can memorize up to 1,000 places so that when you park in the same spot, it will lift automatically.
Climbing inside, you'll find there's no large sill to climb over as in other mid-engine cars. Once seated, you'll find an exquisitely well-crafted cabin wrapped in leather and accentuated with carbon fiber and aluminum. It's also more spacious than the C7 Corvette, with a useful, stunning layout.
As in other Corvettes, the roof is removable and stores in the trunk. Speaking of the trunk, there are two, one in front and a larger one in the rear, with the latter capable of holding two golf bags, according to GM.
But despite the changes, it still looks like a Corvette.
"The team that did the last car did this car," said Michael Simcoe, GM's vice president of global design. "So the feel of the surfaces, the feel of the graphics, whether it's mid-engine proportion or a front-engine proportion, it exudes that execution and that detail, which is Corvette. It's like anything. If you changed that team constantly, you'd have the next best idea, and there would be no intrinsic understanding of the generation before and where to take it."
The new Corvette's look was dictated by its engineering.
"Every panel has a functional reason to be; every surface does a job as much as looking good. It has to perform very, very well."
While Simcoe helped bring the car to production, its design was first created back in 2007 under the supervision of Simcoe's predecessor, Ed Wellburn. "The design was already pretty much signed off, and in my time, I've watched and helped protect its execution."
Despite the changes, the 2020 Corvette remains true to its mission of delivering a high-performance sports car at a fraction of the price of tis competitors. GM says that when the 2020 Corvette Stingray hits showrooms early next year, it will start at less than $60,000. While that may sound pricey, it's extraordinarily affordable in this segment of the market with competitors that range from the $00,000 Porsche Cayman to the $00,000 McLaren.
And this is just the start according to Mark Reuss, president of General Motors.
"Just like there's a portfolio of Corvettes today, we'll have a portfolio like that for Corvette as we expand and go through the years. There will be lots of things to come."
