CarBrandLogos archive · Chevrolet Corvette · 2020

Chevrolet CorvetteCorvette C8

Sixty-six years after Duntov first asked, the engine finally moved behind the driver.

Photo: Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Chevrolet Corvette history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Chevrolet Corvette Corvette C8, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Zora Arkus-Duntov proposed a mid-engined Corvette in the early 1960s and built running prototypes for it. General Motors refused repeatedly, on cost and on the argument that Corvette buyers would not accept it. Six decades and several abandoned programmes later, the eighth generation arrived in 2020 with the engine behind the cabin.

2020 corvette c8 seat options · MN · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chevrolet Corvette C8 convertibles IAA 2021 1X7A0180

Design and engineering

The reasons were practical rather than sentimental. Front-engined cars had reached the limit of how much power they could put down without exotic tyres, and the C7 ZR1 was already at that limit. Moving the mass rearward gave the C8 traction that transformed its acceleration and a front end far more responsive under braking. The cost was the manual gearbox — there is no clutch pedal in any C8 — and a driving position moved dramatically forward, close to the front axle.

Chevrolet Corvette C8 convertibles IAA 2021 1X7A0180 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chevrolet Corvette C8 convertibles IAA 2021 1X7A0184

In production

The base Stingray uses the LT2, a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre pushrod V8 with a dry sump, driving through an eight-speed dual-clutch transaxle. Above it, the Z06 fitted the LT6: a 5.5-litre flat-plane-crank DOHC V8 revving to 8,600rpm, the most sophisticated engine General Motors has ever put in a road car, and one derived directly from the C8.R racing programme. The E-Ray added a front electric motor for all-wheel drive and became the first hybrid Corvette, and the ZR1 and ZR1X sit above both.

Chevrolet Corvette C8 convertibles IAA 2021 1X7A0184 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Legacy

What made it consequential was the price. A car with mid-engined supercar layout, dry-sump V8 and dual-clutch transmission launched at roughly a third of what European equivalents cost, and the waiting lists reflected it.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2020–present

Engine

6.2&nbsp

Designer

Tom Peters (2015)

Body

2-door targa top coupe

Technical specification

The Corvette C8, in detail.

Production: February 2020–present
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door targa top coupe ; 2-door retractable hardtop convertible
Layout: Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive; Rear mid-engine, four-wheel-drive (E-Ray, Grand Sport X, and ZR1X)
Engine: 6.2 L LT2 crossplane OHV V8 (2020–2026); 6.7 L LS6 crossplane OHV V8 (2027–); 5.5 L LT6 flat-plane DOHC V8 ; 5.5 L LT7 twin-turbo flat-plane DOHC V8
Transmission: Tremec TR-9080 DCT 8-speed dual clutch transmission
Designer: Tom Peters (2015)
Assembly: United States: Bowling Green, Kentucky (Bowling Green Assembly Plant)
Manufacturer: Chevrolet (General Motors)