As the first production medium engine Chevrolet Corvette, the C8 broke new ground for the sports car. But does the C8 actually look like a Corvette? Hot rower Chip Foose does not think so, and he gives his opinion on how to improve the design in a video posted on YouTube.
Foose said one of the things he liked most about the Corvette was the clear evolution of the design during the first seven generations. It suddenly ended with the C8, as the proportions were completely changed to accommodate an engine behind the driver.
A mid-engine layout offers significant performance benefits, helping the C8 win Motor Authority’s The best car to buy award, but it also wiped out the Corvette’s legacy, according to Foose, who believes the C8 looks too generic and is too easily confused with other mid-engined cars like the Acura NSX.
Chip Foose signs the Chevrolet Corvette C8
Foose’s solution, as outlined in a sketch, takes more stylistic cues from the previous generation C7 Corvette. Foose uses the front fender openings of the C7 and turns them over as air inlets for the mid-mounted engine. Foose’s version also has a more pronounced stern and a longer hood, which connects it more closely to the C7 and continues the evolutionary line.
The design DNA may soon be stretched to its extreme if reports that Chevy is devising an electric SUV with Corvette emblem are true. It will use the new Ultium battery system from General Motors and give Chevy a rival to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, but, as far as we know, the plan has not been approved.
The traditional Corvette could also eventually become electric, as part of GM’s efforts to eliminate the exhaust pipes of the passenger car by 2035. It will definitely offer a lot of design possibilities.