Corvette C7

Corvette C7 Model

In a move to shore up public confidence following its stint in bankruptcy court, General Motors on Tuesday unveiled its 2-year product plan for the four core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GM. Included in the Chevrolet news is that production of the C7 Corvette will start in April 2012 for the 2013 model year. GM also added that the Corvette will maintain the front-engine layout that has defined the sports car for 57 years.

This is great news as earlier estimates had pushed back the C7 through 2014. This also means that the Corvette Team will now have the resources and the corporate edict to move full speed ahead on a new design that could see changes to America's sports car that include a smaller, lighter body, greater use of advanced weight-saving materials like carbon fiber, aluminum and magnesium and perhaps a smaller engine but one that will still provide the power-to-weight ratio that Corvette owners have become accustomed to. Superchargers for everyone?

At the Birthday Bash earlier this year, Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter reassured the enthusiast gathering that the team is always thinking about the next generation Corvette and how to make it better. Now that the mid-engine layout has once again been tossed aside, Tadge's engineering team will have essentially just a couple of years to make these engineering decisions and test them in mules which we could see as early as 2011.

As for the actual design of the car, prior this summer we believed the new C7 will again be more of a transition of the C6 body style. However, the public and Corvette enthusiasts were immediately smitten with the Transformer's Corvette Stingray Concept introduced earlier this year at the Chicago Auto Show. Perhaps the design team will see that owners would accept more of a radical departure from the looks of the C5/C6.

GM teasing enthusiasts with Chevrolet Corvette C7 Prototypes

Even better photos of the Chevrolet Corvette C7 have hit the internet, leaked spy images that are even crisper than before. These spy images come from filming on the movie Transformers 2 which is going to come out in 2009. There has been rampant speculation circulating on exactly whether this is a concept, a prototype, or actually a mock-up of the future version of the Corvette C7.
This information will be updated with 2010 stingray corvette specs and features.

Corvette C7 Informastion Information on the Corvette C7 is very limited, but GM Inside News recently has the below teaser info.. trim Levels Base: LT Mid-level: Z06 Up-level: SS Introduction The Corvette; such an iconic GM vehicle. It's the car that everyone loves, and has a place in the hearts and minds of millions of people around the world. It's Chevrolet's equivalent of the 911, and the two vastly different cars are often compared head to head as ideological opposites. The car that can compare with rivals costing far more; .that car is the Corvette. And that's the car we had the task of redesigning, quite possibly the hardest of all the RIA cars we have done before. Our hardest vehicle, in the hardest lineup. Efforts in this lineup have culminated with, and in our idea of what the next generation C7 Corvette should be. In this RIA, our C7 Corvette's styling follows an more evolutionary, rather then revolutionary path. Overall the car is much more emotional and dramatic, with a more planted stance and low-slung look. Things like a swooping downward character line add drama and excitement to the car, while still retaining that unmistakable Corvette look. We followed the mantra of "don't mess with success" in hammering out the details on the C7, especially in regards to price. The Corvette is an attainable supercar, and that's something that shouldn't be changed. The LT starts at $47,150 and bumps up the horsepower from current C6 levels to 450HP. And, as is the case now, is available in a few different packages, 1LT, 2LT and 3LT. Z06, which starts at $70,250, increases the HP level to 600HP from it's 7.0L LS7 V8. A new addition to the model line is the "Super Corvette", which we have called the Corvette SS. The Corvette SS, starting at $115,000, has a supercharged version of the engine, making 850HP. The SS also adds features like ceramic brakes, something GM has opted out of the current car because of the over $10k cost. The price has been brought down though, however and it's a feature that certainly should be present on the very best of Corvettes. Lots of debate on where to take the Corvette, both in RIA and inside GM. Some have said to take the Corvette mid-engine. That's the worst course of action because it destroys the very essence of the Corvette in that it's an attainable supercar. In price as well as styling, future Corvettes should stick to the principles that made it what it is. A mid-engined vehicle has it's place at Cadillac, but not as a Corvette. Our proposed C7 Corvette arrives around the time of the production vehicle, in 2010 as a 2011 model. Specifications Sheet Vehicle Type: Large 2-Door 2-Passenger Sports Car Size Comparison: Current Corvette Competitors: In a Class of it's Own Base Platform: GM Y-Body Drive Wheels: RWD Engines: LT: 6.2L 450HP LS3 V8 - Starting at $47,150 Z06: 7.0L 600HP LS7 V8 - Starting at $70,250 SS: 6.2L 750HP Supercharged LS9 V8 - Starting at $115,000 Transmissions: 6 speed Automatic (Optional: LT/Z06/SS), 6 speed manual (Standard: LT/Z06/SS)