2018 C8 (Vette) Mid-Engine! Guess I'll Have to Grab One!

[kyleb350]

Originally Posted by hgtran21

design kinda looks like the new 2017 FORD GT

I imagine putting a Z06 mid engine powertrain in there would get them there performance wise too

[swanson]

Originally Posted by 3GFX

Or Could It Be A Caddy?

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/06/28/m...dillac-theory/

I guarantee a Cadi version will come about from this platform.

[DocWeatherington]

As much as people think it will be a Chevy..

I think it's unlikely, this will be badged at a Cadillac...

Cadillac needs a halo car...

[Red Bread]

Cadillac needs a car they can actually sell. This isn't that car. Cadillac has sold 0.0 sports cars in the past, why launch a mid engine sports car now?

XLR and Allante were not sports cars.

[David70]

I don't think Ford, Audi, or Acura come out with mid engine cars to actually measurably increase their profits and instead they are halo cars, for the brand and image. Audi builds a couple of thousand R8's a year out of 2 million (guess) cars total, Acura plans to build 800 mid engine cars out of their worldwide production. None of them even try for high volume. Ford and their GT, no volume there.

I don't see them getting rid of the high volume Corvette and this car would do more for Cadillac's brand than Chevy's.

Then Cadillac has a twin turbo V-8 coming out in 2018 which would give them another place to use the engine.

When Cadillac’s new 4.2-liter V8 launches, it will first be found under the hood of the Cadillac CT6, likely in the Platinum or CT6 V-Sport models wearing a 4.2TT badge, with de Nysschen noting that a true CT6-V might not be in the cards. We’ll speculate that power figures will likely stretch well beyond 400 horsepower, as the new twin-turbo LGW V6 delivers that much punch from 3.0 liters of displacement and six cylinders. As such, Caddy’s new 4.2-liter turbo V8 will likely be rated closer to the 500 horsepower mark, with de Nysschen saying that power will likely be “in the upper 400s”.

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/01/...#ixzz4DBXBxKBD

[scoobysaurus]

With the Viper now dead, ZR1 being replaced by the cheaper Z06 and the Ford GT moving further upmarket, this potential mid-engined Vette could have the whole $100-$200k American supercar market all to itself. Not a bad place to be for GM.

[08njSTEP]

How is XLR not a sports car? Made in KY in same building as Corvette, same platform.

[DieGrüneHölle]

Originally Posted by David70

I don't think Ford, Audi, or Acura come out with mid engine cars to actually measurably increase their profits and instead they are halo cars, for the brand and image. Audi builds a couple of thousand R8's a year out of 2 million (guess) cars total, Acura plans to build 800 mid engine cars out of their worldwide production. None of them even try for high volume. Ford and their GT, no volume there.

I don't see them getting rid of the high volume Corvette and this car would do more for Cadillac's brand than Chevy's.

Then Cadillac has a twin turbo V-8 coming out in 2018 which would give them another place to use the engine.

It is not going to be a Caddi. Corvette Racing will race this car at Le Mans. They just got their asses handed to them at Le Mans a couple weeks ago by the Ford GT. They do not like to lose, GM puts a lot of money each year into Le Mans. Could there be a Caddi variant using the chassis...sure, but the C8 Corvette will be mid-engine.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by 08njSTEP

How is XLR not a sports car? Made in KY in same building as Corvette, same platform.

Fatter than the C6, weaker engine and a stupid, heavy folding hardtop. It's a sports car, but a dumb one, like a bad SLK.

[SDH]

I'm liking the look of that car a lot. I know nothing of the mechanics but if I had money to burn I'd buy it on looks alone

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by Mywifes335

I mean, the transverse leaf spring setup didn't get great until mid-lifecycle on the C6....that was 50 years.

Maybe with this rumored mid-engined C8 they'll make a technological breakthrough and eliminate push-rod actuated valves. yabba dabba do!

[Mywifes335]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

Maybe with this rumored mid-engined C8 they'll make a technological breakthrough and eliminate push-rod actuated valves. yabba dabba do!

An ex-GM engineer once said, "we can make more power with pushed V8s than our Northstar, and it's cheaper and more reliable..."

That was over 10 years ago, from my cousin. Not sure if it's true anymore.

[08njSTEP]

Nothing inherently wrong with push rods. Penske found a loop hole in rules for Indy. He had ilmore-chevy push rod engine designed and dominated 500 until both cars crashed. Fittipaldi had 2 laps on field when trying to pass Unser Jr(2nd penske car running in 2nd place with 1 lap on field) when he crashed out of turn 4. So going for 3 lap lead.

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by Kyle B

Maybe with this rumored mid-engined C8 they'll make a technological breakthrough and eliminate push-rod actuated valves. yabba dabba do!

Maybe they will also make DOHC engines that are small, compact, and light as the Small Block V8....

Both architectures have their advantages and disadvantages. A car with a DOHC V8 is not inherently better than a car with an OHV V8.

[spiceyxi]

I'm surprised GM hasn't pushed to have Corvette to be more of a sub brand with variants. Something along the lines of the Stingray being the current version, the mid engine being a new ray (mantaray I read somewhere), moving the SS into a Corvette Eagleray and setting the stage for a concept Electricray. They could really leverage the brand value Corvette has built. Not sure the margins and volumes of the current vette, but it has a pretty nice spot in terms of pricing and distance from the Camaro. I can see room between a 55k Stingray and an $80k Mantaray to justify it. Some cannabilization will go on, but I don't know how much demand their will be up the market for the mid engine C8 when compared to the current C7.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Cadillac needs a car they can actually sell. This isn't that car. Cadillac has sold 0.0 sports cars in the past, why launch a mid engine sports car now?

XLR and Allante were not sports cars.

XLR V

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

XLR V

Meh. Was it even as good as a plain C6? I don't recall, such a bore. But 443hp and a 13s 1/4 aren't exactly the stuff of dreams. Point is that Cadillac needs a lot of things before an actual sports car. A mid engine GM sports car sure makes more sense as some form of Corvette, which at least has racing heritage and decades of sports car experience. Cadillac has what, a few dozen XLR V's and some ties to Allard 70 years ago?

[DieGrüneHölle]

Some of the skeptics will be eating crow in the not too decent future.

Mid-engine Vette is happening.


http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/12/2...vette-details/

[1MOREMOD]

Thats the new tahoe

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Railgun

Dunno what's more vaporware...a mid-engined Vette or a new RX-7.

Right now, the new RX (but that's all but officially verified thanks to patent grants and some thinly veiled comments by zoom-zoom itself) ...

... only because no spy shots have surfaced of it, unlike the "Emperor" 'vette here.

And right here in this thread, too.

Emperor Vette vs. GT40 in northern France. Can't wait. Bring it on, 'murica!

#NormandyAllOverAgain

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Railgun

We're Sorry!
The Web page you are looking for could not be found.

Should I requote my own post?

I'm Sorry!
The Web page you were looking for has been replaced with two that can be found.

Now you can delete your post!

[FogCityM3]

Think due to the vestiges of snobbery against American brands that is common on these boards...while that was the case in the past, things have clearly changed. Of course the performance gap is completely closed (and in many ways surpassed by American cars) and next gen the "quality gap" will likely be closed as well.

Companies are dynamic entities, and its obvious that GM and Ford are taking advantage of the Euro car companies' focus on things like diesels and fuel efficient vehicles with turbos. The sad thing is Tesla is eating their lunch in the most innovative electric front, and American car companies are not subject to as stringent displacement, pollution, noise, efficiency regulations and thus can pump out a small number enthusiast halo cars. When you think about it, due to relatively short travel distances in Europe, small, all electric models would have been perfect for that market, and the EU governments would be able to invest in the huge infrastructure required for charging stations (not to mention much of Euro electricity comes from nuclear/renewables). It's shocking that the European car companies, on their very own home turf, completely missed this opportunity. Making it even worse, Tesla doesn't own much intellectual property..their batteries/tech are primarily sourced from Asia, thus its vendors do all the R&D spending while the Euro manufacturers spent all this money on what they thought was the future, only to find themselves 5+ years behind Tesla.

By moving away from its performance roots BMW got caught in the middle, where it is unable to effectively harness electric tech and bring Tesla competitors to market in scale and due to the billions poured into a mis-guided i-strategy (which is STILL not formulated), left very little on the table for innovation on the performance front.

Ironically, Tesla build quality is similar to the current gen of American cars, but people overlook this as the benefits far outweigh the weaknesses in many consumers' minds.

I think a rear-engined 'vette is super cool, I would totally consider it, and it isn't surprising to see GM continue to pounce on the performance and market advantages currently in its favor, at BMW's and many other brands' expense.

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

All of these "car guys" around here and somehow only 3 of us are interested in this seemingly amazing machine? Hmmm...