2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8

The 1,064bhp, 233mph Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will start from $174,995

A bargain for a bona fide hypercar slayer

Big car, big numbers, and a (relatively) small price. GM has revealed the 233mph Corvette ZR1 will start from $174,995 when it goes on sale this summer. Out of context, that's still a heck of a lot of money. Judged against Europe's finest though, that number starts to look like a bit of a bargain...

For example, over in the States, a 911 GT3 starts from $222,500, a McLaren 750S from around $325,000, and a few ticks on the extras list of a Ferrari 296 GTB will push it above $400,000.

If you want your ZR1 with the carbon fibre aero pack (a bigger rear wing, front spoiler and dive planes, underbody strakes), it’s an extra $8,495. The ‘ZTK’ Performance Package is another $1,500 on top.

You’ll also have two interior trim levels to choose from: ‘1LZ’ and ‘3LZ’. Opt for the range-topper (3LZ), which has a 14-speaker Bose audio system, 12in infotainment screen plus lots of Nappa leather, and you’re up to $185,995 for the coupe and $195,995 for the soft-top.

 
The Corvette ZR1 has used its 1,064bhp to set five production car lap records

Chevy engineers go wild in the US with a pre-prod ‘Vette, records tumble

A group of Chevy engineers have decided to take a little roadtrip in the not-so-little Corvette ZR1, ticking off a few landmarks along the way. Like Watkins Glen’s ‘Long Course’, Road America, Road Atlanta, and the Virginia International Raceway.

You will notice all four of those are circuits. And on this fun, chilled and definitely relaxing roadtrip, said engineers just happened to set five new production car lap records. When you’ve got a mighty 1,064bhp V8 and dive planes for days, you’ve not really got a choice in the matter.

Said engineers – Mssrs Bill Wise, Brian Wallace, Chris Barber and Aaron Link – were equipped with a pre-production ZR1 outfitted with the ‘ZTK’ track pack (that adds a high-downforce rear wing, stiffer springs and stickier Michelin Cup 2R tyres), and a combined 65 years of ‘GM Level 6’ driving experience. For ‘Level 6’, read: Professional Hoonmerchant.

So. Bill Wise took the 233mph ZR1 around Watkins Glen’s Long Course in 1m 52.7s; Brian Wallace shot around Road America in 2m 08.6s; Chris Barber blitzed Road Atlanta in 1m 22.8s; Aaron Link got greedy and took two bites out of Virginia International Raceway, with a 1m 47.7 on the ‘Full Course’, and a 2m 32.3s on the ‘Grand Course’.


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Official: incredible new Corvette concept previews next-gen US supercar

It's been designed by GM’s UK studio and is a look into a future 'Vette with (whisper it) EV power

Are we looking at the next-generation C9 Corvette? Yes! And also No! This new concept car will definitely influence the styling of the next-generation Corvette, but it’s not quite as simple as sticking on some number plates and giving it the thumbs up.

It’s the work of GM’s new Advanced Design Studio in Leamington Spa (about 20 miles from Birmingham if your UK geography is a bit rusty) and one of three Corvette concepts that will be shown this year. The second will come from GM’s LA-based studio, and finally - probably around August - we will see a concept made at the Detroit studio that uses elements from both… and is a proper preview of the C9.

GM has several of these ‘satellite’ studios around the world – in Shanghai, Seoul, São Paulo and now the UK, as well as LA and the mothership in Detroit – tasked with bringing different influences and perspectives to GM’s conceptual design work. And perspectives don’t get much more different than asking a UK-based studio to design the next-generation Corvette. The brief from Detroit really was that simple, and this is the result, something a whole lot more svelte, elegant and subtle than the current mid-engined C8.

“As part of the Corvette creative study, we asked multiple studios to develop hypercar concepts,” Michael Simcoe, senior VP of global design said. “It was important that they all pay homage to Corvette’s historic DNA, but each studio brought their own unique creative interpretation to the project. Which is exactly what our advanced design studio network is intended to do – push the envelope, challenge convention and imagine what could be.”


 
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