It's real! It's really real! After countless concepts, teases, rumors and false starts, a mid-engine Corvette is finally on its way. We have our best look yet at what is the new mid-engined machine. There are big expectations for a car that still has no official statements or release date. Car and driver caught a test car out and about and it is easy to see the family resemblance. The front half looks clearly Corvette-ish with only the shorter nose hinting at the surprise being covered by tarps. Check out all of Car and Drivers shots here.
Our best look yet at the mid-engined 2019 @Chevrolet Corvette C8! https://t.co/39j6RWe5eH pic.twitter.com/VcTF9bwVBs
— Car and Driver (@CARandDRIVER) August 1, 2017
With 64 years of history proclaiming the Corvette as America's premier front engine, rear wheel drive sports car, "Mid-engine" and "Corvette" does not even sound right.
Why mess with perfection? Even though Chevy has been able to keep up with Europe's finest, a mid-engined version of the Corvette has long been thought necessary to truly compete with the next tier of sports cars that use the mid-rear layout. Chevy has been pushing the performance of the front engine model to the edge of its limits, but has it hit a wall that only a mid-engine could break through? This would be the biggest change to the Corvette model since 1955.
There is a small speculated caveat that it could be branded a Cadillac. The mid-engine future car would go up against other models from competitors at Audi, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini and Porsche. Does the Cadillac brand fit more in the luxury, high-performance vehicle mix, than the Chevy Corvette? Some could argue it does, and Cadillac is a more traditional competitor with the foreign counterparts and would keep the Corvette true to its roots. The brand shift could also help justify the inevitable price increase for the all new layout.