Hennessey plans to build a 1,200-hp Corvette C8 because of course

In retrospect, it seems inevitable: Texas tuning shop Hennessey is planning to build a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 with 1,200 horsepower.As if the vehicle wasnt already hard enough for some good ol boys to adjust to, being mid-engined and all, now that extra horsepower will be sure to send all said boys into other peoples yards even quicker.To make it happen, Hennessey will take the LT2 V8 and bolt on two massive turbochargers. To stop it from becoming tiny shards of engine parts, forged aluminum pistons and forged steel connecting rods will be installed, along with a few other bespoke parts.To send the power to the wheels, Hennessey says it will incorporate an upgraded and fortified factory dual-clutch automatic transmission and a full Brembo brake system. Those Brembos will definitely be getting a stiff workout. The HPE1200, as it will be called, doesnt have a price or a release date yet, but were sure itll be too soon before we see a bunch of these things terrorizing our quiet neighbourhoods.Before the HPE1200 is built, Hennessey will also unveil a line of products for the C8, like a stainless steel exhaust system, a supercharger upgrade good for 700 horsepower, and more once computer tuning becomes available for the new C8 platform.Hennessey has also revealed it has modified over 500 C7s so far, and the next upgrades it will make available for purchase will be decided by online questionnaire. The customers are telling us what they want and big surprise they want more power! says John
Origin: Hennessey plans to build a 1,200-hp Corvette C8 because of course

The last front-engined Chevrolet Corvette just rolled off the line

A moment of silence, please: Chevrolet has built its very last front-engined C7 Corvette. The historic vehicle rolled off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky yesterday.GM was surprisingly low-key about it, sending out only a lone tweet instead of a press release. The last one was a black 2019 Z06, powered by a 650-horsepower 6.2-litre V8 engine, sold long before it was built.It was offered last June at the Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction and brought US$2.7 million dollars, with the winning bid benefiting the Stephen Siller Foundation charity. It was the highest price paid at a Barrett-Jackson auction for a vehicle donated by an automaker. The money went to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which builds accessible, mortgage-free homes for injured military veterans, and helps pay off mortgages of families of first responders killed in the line of duty.Some endings are bittersweet. The last #Corvette C7 – the end of an era – rolled off the line today. It was previously auctioned for $2.7 million with proceeds going to building smart homes for veterans. pic.twitter.com/3NU7gWWbc6 Chevrolet (@chevrolet) November 15, 2019With the end of C7 production, the plant can now begin to build the mid-engine C8 Corvette, with a starting price in Canada between $69,998 and $85,398 across its three trim lines.The C8 marks the first time a Corvettes engine has been anywhere but under the hood since the sports car was introduced for 1953. The Bowling Green plant, which has made more than one million Corvettes since production started there in 1981, is the only factory that makes the
Origin: The last front-engined Chevrolet Corvette just rolled off the line

First Drive: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Z51

Ann Arbor, Michigan I have been behind the wheel of the new mid-engine Corvette. Youll note I didnt say I have driven the new Vette. For even though I actually steered the wheel, pressed the gas pedal and stomped on the brake, I didnt actually drive the supercar, at least not like it wants hell, needs to be driven. Indeed, my 45-minute meander through suburban Detroit was little more than a whistle wetter.Nonetheless, I got a hint of what the C8 will be like, enough, in fact, that I can at least tell you what a mid-engine Corvette will feel like on your everyday commute. So, without further adoIt’s the real dealNo. I didnt clip even a single apex in anger. Or even mow through the gears with bad intentions. But I can still say this is a Corvette apart. It as you might expect feels different, just like a mid-engine supercar does when youre driving responsibly. The steering is lighter than in front-engine Vettes, the connection between driver and front wheels a little more direct. Theres very much a sense you are sitting right over the very centre of the car; thats because your butt is very close to its centre of mass. Thats fairly easy to imagine, with the massive LT2 small-block thrumming right behind your ear youve very aware just how close you are to the heaviest single component in the entire car. But theres more to it than that. Theres the fact that mid-engine cars have a much smaller polar moment of inertia. Not as immediately obvious a concept as mass centralization, polar moment of inertia is a measure of how far the weight of the engine and other components are from the cars centre. The engine in a C7, for instance, is all the way up front, and the axle/transmission all the way in the back. In other words, the weight of the driveline is concentrated at the extreme ends of the chassis. Imagine a broom with a weight dangling at each end. Now try to spin it. Not easy, right? Now move both weights to the centre of the broom and try to spin it again? Much easier, no?Thats what putting an engine amidships does for a supercars polar moment of inertia. And you can feel it even driving at moderate speeds, the new C8 lighter and more responsive than its 1,530 kilograms suggests. How this translates onto the racetrack we will report on in the future, but it certainly feels like theres plenty of potential.This new Corvette feels super sophisticatedAlmost too sophisticated. Indeed, the ride in Tour mode is the most compliant I have ever tested in a mid-engine car even compared to the McLaren GT, which the automaker claims to have tailored for more moderate driving. It could be too compliant, the ride from Chevrolets revised magneto-rheological suspension so positively cushy that Corvettes traditional clientele might not find it pardon the sexist reference manly enough. Dont worry, guys; flip the really nifty mode selector to Sport or Race and the new Vette will rattle your fillings just like God and Zora Arkus-Duntov meant. And just in case youre actually weak of arm yet still long for that manly ride, there are not just one but two custom modes that allow you to customize suspension compliance, steering weight and throttle response individually. Eventually, what will decide the new C8s worth is how adroitly it can navigate through hairpins and sweepers, but right now the biggest surprise is how gently the car coddles posteriors.Critics be damned, the interior is Tony the Tiger Greeeeat!There been some criticism of the C8s cabin layout. Well, having lived with it albeit for 45 short minutes I can tell you few of them are valid. Oh, the actual gauge set is a little underwhelming and GM would do well to spruce it up, but that square steering wheel works wonders for being able to see the entire gauge set without craning your neck sideways. It also does nothing to reduce steering feel, so good one, GM.As for that long line of buttons that has so many on the blogosphere upset, its totally ergonomic. First, it really does make the view from the drivers seat feel like a cockpit more so, even, than supercars from more prestigious brands. Said buttons are also easy to decipher and manipulate. What more could you ask for?Ditto the infotainment touchscreen. Ideally placed for actuation, it also feels almost built into the dash although it is a separate piece compared with the perched-on-top items that look so cheap on higher-end Mercedes and BMWs. Throw in a very stylish mode control mouse and you have a pretty nifty centre console.As for the general decor, its still not quite up to the standards of a Ferrari, or even an Audi. But the leather quality, the panel gaps and the general ambiance is so far advanced from Corvettes previous that one wonders, considering that there has not been a giant price increase, why the hell these improvements werent instituted before. All in all, a massive step forward.A little more drama perhapsWith 495 horses and 470 pound feet of torque, theres a certainly bit
Origin: First Drive: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Z51

Racing Corvette C8.R’s flat-plane-crank V8 will also power street-legal ‘Vette

Chevy has been pumping up the metaphorical tires of its newest racing Corvette, the C8.R, which it recently surprise-revealed alongside the 2020 Convertible Stingray.The engine powering the C8.R is an all-new naturally aspirated V8 with dual overhead cams and a wild flat-plane crankshaft. And due to IMSA and FIA rules, it’s limited to 5.5 litres of displacement, which is room enough to push out around 500 horsepower, 480 lb.-ft. of torque and a helluva growl. But the real news wrapped up in the announcement, the detail that’s going to make at least 300 people very excited, according to Jalopnik, is that the brand will also plunk the naturally aspirated power plant into a road-going version of the car.A Chevy rep confirmed with the publication that the engine will make its way into a future road-ready model — FIA rules demand that 300 of the engines must be made for the road-ready version. And bless the FIA for that! Because without the racing regs in the way, there’s no reason the street car shouldn’t expand displacement and access even more power. Chevrolet hasn’t disclosed which car will receive the built-for-track engine, other than to say it will be “a future production-based engine,” but the Z06 nameplate is already well-known as a performance Corvette trim, so that’s definitely not off the
Origin: Racing Corvette C8.R’s flat-plane-crank V8 will also power street-legal ‘Vette

Car Review: 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

OVERVIEW End of the road for front-engined Corvettes and a fine send off PROSBrutal speed, classic looks, surprisingly ample storage space CONSAutomatic transmission is not a great one, competition seats really mean it VALUE FOR MONEYExcellent WHAT TO CHANGE?Any flaw the test car had, could be fixed with the option sheet HOW TO SPEC IT?Give me the Grand Sport with the standard seats and a stick The Chevrolet Corvette is not a slave to tradition. Its a slave to function it hasnt remained front-engined all this time simply because enthusiasts want the engine in a certain place to preserve the classic Corvette formula. GM has done so because this aids its function.Sometimes, that function is less sexy than lap times: In the days when the Corvette shared suspension components with the Chevelle, it kept the overall cost down and allowed more generous cargo room, making it a proper long-distance car.But the design has always been purpose-driven. The purpose of the C7 Corvette was to take the front-engined formula as far as it would go. Even Ferrari knows front-engined sports cars are a rose-tinted throwback to the past, and that the future is mid-engined. The upcoming mid-engine C8 changes the Corvette formula weve known for 66 years, but before we drive the C8, lets see what the final hurrah! of the front-engined Corvette brings us.Sheathed in fiberglass as theyve been from the beginning, the C7 slices a menacing profile. The hood is long and low, bounded by muscular bulges. Every corner of the C7 is sharp, violent and trimmed with black aerodynamic bits. The wings, scoops and vents are all very real, and you can feel the heat roiling out of them after a spirited drive. This is the supercharged Z06 variant; slide into the cockpit and a data plaque proudly tells you this rocket makes 650 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque. There are a lot of Corvette sub-models and the Z06 is second from the top; above it sits the all-conquering 755-horsepower ZR1 track animal. Below is the base, naturally aspirated Vette with 465 horsepower, as well as the Grand Sport which, interestingly enough, is essentially a Z06 but with the base engine. In addition to said supercharged engine, the Z06 gets wider fenders, a host of aerodynamic enhancements and wider tires. They measure 285 millimetres up front, and a full 335 in the rear.The C7 is also the last Corvette to offer a manual transmission; you can spec the seven-speed manual in any Corvette model, but in an odd move, this particular Z06 had the eight-speed automatic. Talk about a missed opportunity.Climbing into the C7, youll see something no future Corvette will ever give you: A long hood with a V8 underneath. The raised fenders hearken back to the C3, and the view is reminiscent of the older car from behind the wheel. In Z06 form, the pronounced center bulge never lets you forget a fat supercharger sits atop the LT5 engine.The rest of the interior is beyond reproach; compared to the Little Tykes/Tupperware adventures of the C5 and Cobalt-like C6, the C7 is a revelation. I like the dramatically sweeping cockpit that surrounds the driver, and the digital cluster and central tachometer tell you this is a car to drive. Alcantara covers the dash binnacle, shifter and steering wheel. And dont forget the oh-so-trick quilted suede headliner. Corvette interiors have come a long way.And so have the seats! Theyve almost gone too far, actually. The test car was equipped with the optional Competition seats, and, boy, does GM mean it. They have adjustable side bolsters, but they really only adjust from too tight to even more tight. I cant imagine that wider people would be very comfortable in them, but if you want to do real track work in your Z06, these seats certainly hold you in place. Did I also mention that the passenger gets two Oh, crap! handles? There are plenty of cubbies for your things and the rear cargo area is more than generous for a couples luggage for a weekend getaway. The Corvette likes being driven slowly or straight-up fast. None of the quickly malarkey for the Z06. Around town, the automatic is buttery smooth, the shifts almost imperceptible. The ride is sports-car-firm for sure, and without the optional Magnetic Ride Control, it just kind of is what you get all the time, no bumpy-road modes to be found.In the city, the major downside is the constant battle of the various fans against underhood heat, doing their best to keep the engine cool; they must use a lot of energy because urban fuel mileage is downright atrocious. On the highway, though, the Corvettes double-overdrive automatic and extremely long 2.41:1 rear axle gears drop engine revs down to under 2,000 at brisk highway speeds, easily loafing the Corvette along and getting a respectable 10.2 L/100 kilometres.And when you want to go fast, the Z06 is willing and ready. It will absolutely catapult you into the horizon at any speed. The rear tires are massive, but theyll still
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

First Look: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

The launch of the 2020 C8 Chevrolet Corvette held, we have to admit, plenty of surprises for us. It started around $70,000 in Canada and promised a zero-to-96 km/h time of under 3.0 seconds.We expected the C8 to be competitive, but I dont think many were expecting that.But the reveal of the C8 convertible? Not so surprising. Chevy chose to reveal the C8 drop-top in the Kennedy Space Centers Rocket Garden in Orlando, Florida.Thats partly because rockets are just plain cool, but moreso because astronauts have been driving Corvettes for almost as long as there have been astronauts. Alan Shepard, Alan Bean, Neil Armstrong and many others famously owned examples of the classic plastic sports car.But lets talk about the car itself. For starters, it gets the same 6.2-litre 490-hp V8 as the coupe, which makes it the most powerful Corvette base model ever. The top is a folding hardtop arrangement, and no soft-top will be available. According to engineers, the tops six motors, linkages and hinges add a reasonable 35 kg to the total weight of the C8.Like most modern convertibles (and especially mid-engined ones) there are twin nacelles behind the driver headrests. Chevy says they hearken back to the faired-in headrests of 1950s prototypes and visually connect the top of the windshield to the rear of the car, but we think the less-sexy reason for them is simply to provide more rollover protection. Nonetheless, they are well-executed and not an eyesore. And while the C8 coupe shows off its engine under glass, the vert obscures it, since the roof is stored on top of the engine compartment when folded down. To accommodate the thermal demands this covering-up adds, some rather stylish vents have been sliced into the top of the rear deck for engine cooling. And, yes, even with the top stored, you can fit two sets of golf clubs in the C8. Sigh.Impressive numbers? Well, the C8 vert has plenty. The coupe starts at about $70,000 in Canada, and the new convertible will begin at $78,998 when it arrives here. Production of the C8 will start in January, and deliveries will happen two months after that.But that wasnt all Chevy revealed among the rockets; it also pulled out a very fierce-looking C8.R race car. Flared and spoilered, wearing massive slicks and roll cage, the C8.R is very much the real deal. Chevy was reticent to divulge technical details about the C8.R, but said it would compete at Petite Le Mans soon.One thing to note about it: It sounded for all the world like a flat-plane-crank engine. We dont know whats under the hood, but it does not sound like a typical cross-plane
Origin: First Look: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

The C8-gen Corvette Z06 could get 800 hp: report

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8Chevrolet Arguably the biggest car-related news of this calendar year was the introduction of a mid-engined Corvette.With its powerful mill now bolted directly behind the drivers spine, Chevrolets master of performance is ready to take on some of the worlds greatest supercars.When it dropped in July, Chevy showed the Stingray, fuelled by a burly-chested engine that, paired with the optional Z51 package, will allegedly belt from zero to 96 km/h in less than three seconds.Its small-block LT2 V8 makes up to 495 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque, bumps of 40 and 10 respectively over the old LT1. A dry-sump system keeps things oiled during high-speed track shenanigans. This is a serious engine.But if, like with chocolate, you feel that too much is never enough, it is all but assured that GM will introduce a Z06 variant of the new Stingray at some point in the not-too-distant future. Steeped in Corvette lore, the Z06 cranks things squarely to eleven and keeps it there. For a spell, it was available only with a manual transmission, such was its performance credo. Various talking heads are musing that we could see a Z06 as soon as the 2022 model year, meaning we a prototype concept on the car show circuit could land as early as the upcoming Detroit show in June. Expect a big wing and enough scoops to inhale a flock of sheep that much is certain.What isn’t certain is what will be under its engine cover. Breathless new reports from Automobile suggest the Z06 will earn a variant of the Cadillac Blackwing engine pushing a sky-high 800 horsepower and 700 lb.-ft. of torque. The 2020 6.2L V-8 AFM VVT DI (LT2) from Chevrolet Corvette C8 Chevrolet This would be tremendous, but your author humbly thinks that if Cadillac is willing to share its toys, this mill may be saved for a future ZR1 trim instead. The existing Z06 pumps out 650 horses, no slouch in and of its own right.Could Chevy slap a supercharger on the LT2 instead and crank the wick to about 700 hp to create the next Z06? Whatever the company selects, one can also be certain a sharper suspension tune and stickier tires will be along for the ride. Itll probably go on a diet, too. No keto, though that stuffs
Origin: The C8-gen Corvette Z06 could get 800 hp: report

Watch: New 2020 Corvette already wrecked in California

That was quick. Not even a month after Chevrolet pulled the wraps off its mid-engined 2020 C8 Corvette, a driver has managed to wad one up on a Californian road.In what certainly seems to be the first public crash of a new Corvette, multiple social media sources point to an Elkhart Lake Blue example colliding on a windy strip with an oncoming vehicle.We hope all hands walked away from the wreck.This video from YouTube gives us our best look at the mishap. After rolling by a grey GMC Yukon XL, which could be part of GMs response team, the biffed C8 heaves into view. Its clear the drivers side corner took the brunt of the impact, explaining why the IIHS likes to put vehicles through a small-overlap test.Both airbags have popped, giving us hope the safety systems worked as designed and the occupants are okay. Its flashing hazard lights tell us the electrical system or at least parts of it still functioned after the crash, perhaps an unintended benefit of all the Expensive Bits now being placed behind the driver.A last-gen Ford Ranger and newer Chevrolet Equinox were also tagged in the fray, with the latter taking the worst of this exchange. Most of the Chevys drivers side rear suspension has vanished and the side curtain airbags have also deployed, while the Ranger suffered drivers side front damage. Again, heres to all occupants emerging unscathed.Gearhead and car writer Jason Cammisa provides some extra context via his Instagram account. View this post on Instagram Wrecked C8 Corvette! That didnt take long. 😢 ⁣⁣ Friend of a friend happened upon this scene. Dunno who did what but theres also a Chevy Equinox there with a lot of rear suspension components ripped off, sitting on top of a guardrail. ⁣⁣🤦🏻‍♂️ ⁣⁣ The C8 looks like it’s missing its front-left corner. ⁣⁣ We can speculate forever. But the only thing thats important is that everyone got to walk away. Hope thats the case. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #Chevrolet #Chevy #Corvette #C8 #CorvetteC8 #C8Corvette #crash #wreck #WreckedC8 #CrashedC8 #C8Crash ⁣⁣#carcrash #carcrashes #wreckedcar A post shared by Jason Cammisa (@jasoncammisa) on Aug 11, 2019 at 1:19pm PDTWhile its always easy to play armchair vehicle-CSI, it doesnt take much of an imagination to suggest what happened in this instance. It is possible the C8 took the right-hand California curve too wide, connecting with the Equinox as it was headed around the same curve in the opposite direction. The Ranger, behind the Chevy, would have had nowhere to go.Be safe out there,
Origin: Watch: New 2020 Corvette already wrecked in California

The 2020 Corvette C8 reveal nearly broke the Internet

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8Chevrolet It hasn’t even hit streets yet, and the 2020 Corvette C8 is already breaking records for GM.In fact, it was the very act of revealing it that led to the first record. On July 18, GM revealed the first ever mid-engined ‘Vette in an online event, and the traffic generated was almost too much for the automaker’s websites. The livestream stalled at times due to the 471,000 people watching around the world, and as soon as Chevy announced the “Visualizer” configurator was up on the site, it too was nearly drawn to a grind for almost a day by a continual flood of users. The day after the reveal, with the C8 live on the site, Chevrolet.com welcomed more visitors than any other day in its history, and five times more than the daily norm. “With a pretty rabid and passionate base, we knew we’d take 24 hours of grief,” Steve Majoros, director of Chevrolet passenger car and crossover marketing, told Roadshow. “The majority of people got the full (configurator) experience, which is the full 3D experience. We do have a way that the system throttles to what we’re calling a 2D experience (to speed load time). Once we hit thresholds, we worked with Amazon Web Services very quickly to double our server capacity.” The Corvette page on Chevrolet.com continued to garner the clicks for the rest of July, too, earning 2.4 million visits between the 18 and the end of the month. So did the Visualizer — some 1.3 million people spent over 152,000 hours configuring over 940,000 C8s before August 1. Have your tried the Visualizer? If not, click your way around your own digital Corvette C8 here.
Origin: The 2020 Corvette C8 reveal nearly broke the Internet

New Corvette C8 will ditch the chrome wheels

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8Chevrolet The Corvette is no stranger to criticism, but among all the gripes, the wheels have never really been one. Until now.While perusing the C8 Corvette configurator on Chevrolets website, Car and Driver noticed one glaring omission: an option for chrome wheels. At first thought to be a glitch, the automaker, specifically Corvette head engineer Tadge Juechter, confirmed to the outlet that the super-shiny rims were intentionally left out.The decision was deliberately made to attract younger buyers to the Corvette brand, ones who might find the chrome tasteless, and to distance the new mid-engined Corvette from its traditionally Jurassic-aged drivers, even if they are completely loyal to the brand.Their loyaltys likely to run out about now anyway, what with news the C8 would not be offered with a manual transmission; would have the engine behind the driver; and wouldnt come with four round taillights. Add on the lack of chrome wheels a polished rim is as close as it gets and more and more older buyers are liable to step away from the C8. Corvettes have, unfortunately, always been the stuff of dreams for retirees and Dads whose kids have finally finished college and gotten a real job. While theres nothing really wrong with following your dreams of owning the sports car you worked your whole life to enjoy, the owner stereotype of a guy in jorts, New Balance shoes and a ball cap with Corvette wings on it doesnt exactly scream serious driving machine to the general public.So if youre feeling discriminated against, just remember the C8 still fits a set of golf clubs in the back, take a big deep breath, and everything will be
Origin: New Corvette C8 will ditch the chrome wheels