Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

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.

Corvette

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.

Corvette

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.

Corvette

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.

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

2012 Chevrolet Corvette

If you were a car-crazed kid in America any time between Eisenhower and LBJ, chances are you learned about one sports car before any other: Corvette. It might've been a two-tone C1 roadster, a split-window coupe parked among svelte Corvairs and boxy Impalas on your neighborhood dealership's showroom floor, or Tod and Buzz's dull gray convertible on television; but the long hood, the short deck, the two buckets, and the brawny, yet sophisticated American swagger caught your eye. It was the stuff dreams were made of.

Now one of America's longest-lasting nameplates, the Corvette has had its toe-curling Elvis-in-Vegas years (the awful, asthmatic C3s of 1975-1977 were the absolute nadir). But the opening decade of the 21st century finds America's own sports car in the best shape it's ever been. The 2008 C6 is the sharpest, fastest, and best-finished Corvette yet, while the 197-mph Z06 is, quite simply, the best-value supercar you can buy anywhere in the world.

That's a good question, because right now GM execs are planning the next-generation Corvette, the C7. What they decide over the next few months will be hugely important. For the first time in history, GM wants to take Corvette-one of the few American GM brands that doesn't play in the discount department of the mass market-global, accompanying Cadillacs in showrooms in Europe, Asia, and Australia. Complicating the picture are proposals to take the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandate to 35 mpg by 2020. Depending on the fine print, the doomsayers hint there's a real chance that could mean there's no C7 at all.

Here's what we know: GM is considering at least three scenarios for the C7, and GM Design is still some time away from boiling down competing proposals (at least five were in the mix at one point) for the car. That means the car, originally planned for the 2011 model year (to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Chevrolet), will likely launch as a 2012 model and may even slip further, depending on how the new CAFE regulations pan out.

2009 Corvette ZR1

2009 Corvette ZR1 | 36 Jpg |1600x1200 | 8.28MB |