2020 Corvette C8 Reveal TONIGHT (18 July 2019)

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by Trav

Edit: Most Americans like the sound of a HD also which to me is the most horrible racket I ever heard outside of a 2cyl lawn tractor. Each to his/her own I guess.



Oh, we agree on that! The "blatting" sound produced by a long stroke, air cooled, low RPM V-Twin inspires nothing in me.


I never mentioned sound with regard to V8's (although they can sound good) . I think, the best sounding engines are ones that make fantastic power per displacement.

My boss has a bunch of exotics. I occasionally get to drive them. The FXXK and La Ferrari are absolutely impressive. Having been at Daytona with the FXXK, they are amazing. But they are not faster (by lap times) than an unrestricted NASCAR with the lowly old pushrod V8. In fact, the FXXK is the first Ferrari to match the terminal speeds of 1984 NASCAR. The V8 can perform quite well and 500HP in normally aspirated, emission controlled form is rather impressive.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted by Kruse
Not a Chevy man at all, but to anybody here who bashes this car, would you give it away if you would happen to win it in a raffle or a lottery? Yea, that's what I thought.
If this car has a chance to compete or beat the world competition, at a price that will probably be considerably less, so be it.


I think it's an outstanding car- no question. That said, if I did win won I'd likely sell it and get something else. But that's just my personal preference and not a knock on the C8.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by double vanos
One of the engineers accidentally left his iPad on the dash.

That's a trend the Germans started, Mercedes and BMW started the "tablet" movement on dashes. I'm not a fan.

As for the new Corvette, it's now competitive against Ferrari, Lambo, Porsche(911) and a few others. Mid-engine, the LTx still lives so the aftermarket is somewhat happy. Should be interesting.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'd like to see a more rugged basic muscle car interior. Get rid of the onboard plastic iPad junk please! That ruins it.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I'd like to see a more rugged basic muscle car interior. Get rid of the onboard plastic iPad junk please! That ruins it.


This Roadrunner dash ?:

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted by 4WD
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I'd like to see a more rugged basic muscle car interior. Get rid of the onboard plastic iPad junk please! That ruins it.


This Roadrunner dash ?:



That is a skinny steering wheel!

 

[E365]

The rumors of cancelling the Camaro make a little more sense now. Unless you NEED a manual transmission and a nearly unusable rear seat, the Camaro ZL1 is pretty pointless now (same with a Mustang GT350/R). At least the Challenger still has a adult sized rear seat and large trunk.

 

[MCompact]

I'm underwhelmed by the styling; I think some styling cues from Corvettes of the past would have been appropriate.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by 4WD
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
I wouldn't want to do work on the engine because it looks like access would be bad in that body. Would probably have to drop the engine from the bottom to even work on it.

The Ford GT had the whole back end open up, so engine access was real good on that mid engine car.


Ford GT ? Don't think we should compare FGT considering what those cost. I would add that if this engine will be hard to work on in place … I'm glad they waited to put a timing chain and turbo monster in there before that 4.2L engine has exposed the weak links … (sorry)


I wasn't comparing it to the Ford GT except in the engine access department. The new Vette doesn't have the whole tail end open up for easy access like the Ford GT does.

 

[ZeeOSix]

To add about the pushrod vs DOHC V8 configuration ... a DOHC V8 is very wide across the heads compared to a pushrod V8. That alone may make it not a good fit into a mid-engine car, as the DOHC engine would definitely be a tighter fit.

 

[Trav]

Good point! If you look at the Blackwing engine they have have moved the cats and turbo's into the "V" instead of exhaust manifolds made possible only because of DI actually making the engine "smaller". The lighter the car gets the better suited it is to this type of engine, you don't see pushrod F1 cars or high end Rally cars all the way back to the outlawed Killer B models, you would have to way back when Mini's, DS and Cortina's, etc were Rallying to find a pushrod engine.

Heavy bodies like Nascar and similar work fine with 2v pushrod engines as they benefit from the extra torque the 2v offers but that is coming to an end with the new turbo units Fords ecoboost engines prove that they are competitive with bigger displacement V8 engines.

From everything I read the 4.2ltr Blackwing makes up to 550 HP with 5.5ltr variants producing much more, it seems almost a given the use of this current engine is a temporary move just to get the car out the door and at a lower price point which is a good reason to keep the old lump as the base model engine with RWD so it remains affordable to many more customers.
An AWD DOHC and hybrid versions will certainly cost more and somewhat limit the customer base. Just as a side note the Blackwing is being hand built in Bowling Green the home of guess what. This engine is what will set the new vette apart from the rest.

http://cadillacsociety.com/2019/01/...win-turbo-v8-engine-is-called-blackwing/

Edit: This is the first car in over 40 years I am really thrilled about, it reminds me of childhood memories of cars that drove me into this business in the first place.

 

[4WD]

Another

 

[Trav]

I have read all I can find about this engine, it is the first truly individually hand built engine made in this country for a production car in many years possibly decades, this engine will without a doubt cause the worlds finest to loose sleep at night wondering how they can compete with it at the price.

To me this engine is just as exciting as the new car.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by Trav
Edit: Most Americans like the sound of a HD also which to me is the most horrible racket I ever heard outside of a 2cyl lawn tractor. Each to his/her own I guess.


Or an air cooled V-dub with a miss....

About the sound, most of us old mouth breather Luddites grew up with the sound of a built V8 at the top of the food chain in the local scene. This is probably changing as the young import tuner guys get to the stage where they'd look at a Vette and want to hear a screaming exhaust.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted by Trav
Good point! If you look at the Blackwing engine they have have moved the cats and turbo's into the "V" instead of exhaust manifolds made possible only because of DI actually making the engine "smaller". The lighter the car gets the better suited it is to this type of engine, you don't see pushrod F1 cars or high end Rally cars all the way back to the outlawed Killer B models, you would have to way back when Mini's, DS and Cortina's, etc were Rallying to find a pushrod engine.

Heavy bodies like Nascar and similar work fine with 2v pushrod engines as they benefit from the extra torque the 2v offers but that is coming to an end with the new turbo units Fords ecoboost engines prove that they are competitive with bigger displacement V8 engines.

From everything I read the 4.2ltr Blackwing makes up to 550 HP with 5.5ltr variants producing much more, it seems almost a given the use of this current engine is a temporary move just to get the car out the door and at a lower price point which is a good reason to keep the old lump as the base model engine with RWD so it remains affordable to many more customers.
An AWD DOHC and hybrid versions will certainly cost more and somewhat limit the customer base. Just as a side note the Blackwing is being hand built in Bowling Green the home of guess what. This engine is what will set the new vette apart from the rest.

http://cadillacsociety.com/2019/01/...win-turbo-v8-engine-is-called-blackwing/

Edit: This is the first car in over 40 years I am really thrilled about, it reminds me of childhood memories of cars that drove me into this business in the first place.









What do you think the basic price would be with that engine?

$60K vs ?????

I realize absolutely none will ever sell for $60K, just how much more for that engine.

 

[Trav]

I wouldn't even want to venture a guess but I would be on it being far less than Euro exotic. I would also guess that it will be quite some time before we see this one as a mass produced crate engine.

 

[02SE]

I don't mind the interior, the mid-engine should absolutely help it put the power down, and keep the rear under control. The lack of a manual still bugs me, but I'm warming up to it.

 

[E365]

Re: manual transmission. GM recently patented a "electric slave cylinder for manually shifted vehicles". Thoughts are it could be for the C8.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-ca...tent-stick-shift-c8-corvette-mid-engine/

http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?PageNum=0&docid=20180252274&IDKey=13DB0F22CA99&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fappft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO2%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D39%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526co1%3DAND%2526d%3DPG01%2526s1%3Dgm.AANM.%2526OS%3DAANM%2Fgm%2526RS%3DAANM%2Fgm

 

[JeffKeryk]

I've had 4 Corvettes, old and new; my Corvette days are over.
But... This car might be a game changer.

Zora would be proud.

 

[fdcg27]

So after more than four decades of teasers and show cars, the mid-engine Corvette finally comes.
I think it looks good, although a little generic Ferrari.
This car for only $60K looks to be a great value.
There's also nothing wrong with a pushrod V-8, since it makes for a very compact and easily packaged engine with generous displacement.
I've posted in other threads that German engineering was no match for pushrod Chevy power in track events, and this car will demonstrate that in spades.
How much faster will this Corvette be than any German car in Car&Driver's next track test?
We'll see next spring or maybe even this fall.