SPIED! MID-ENGINE CORVETTES
Earlier this month, we caught yet another mid-engine Corvette prototype out testing on public roads. Interestingly, it wasn’t running around in Michigan where most prototypes have been seen. Instead, it was in California, driving along the same roads we use to evaluate cars during our Of the Year testing. We could only conclude that Chevrolet‘s development engineers were hoping to get a leg up on our inevitable Car of the Year competition.
While we wait for Chevrolet to officially announce the car we know is coming, prototypes continue to make the rounds. For example, take these spy shots that our friends over at Hot Rod just published. Instead of one mid-engine Corvette, they caught a small fleet of four, as well as a Porsche 911 and a group of Chevrolet escort vehicles, about 60 miles north of San Diego.
From the squared-off quad exhaust to the five-spoke wheels, there isn’t really anything new to see on the individual cars. As best as we can tell, they’re the same ones we’ve seen before. It’s also not news that the Porsche 911 is being used as a benchmark vehicle. If you’re building a high-performance sports car, that’s the one to beat. Or at least the one you should try to match.
We also recently got a look at the cabin of one of the prototypes, which looks way more luxurious than the current one. And shots of what appears to be the C8’s key fob also hint at a number of features such as a rear trunk and a power-retractable targa top. The source of those images also includes some paperwork that may confirm that the mid-engine will go on sale for the 2020 model year.
That said, the test cars seen here are still covered in the kind of camouflage typically reserved for vehicles that are a long way from their official reveal. We’d like to think Chevrolet is just being extra cautious about C8 details, but you never know. It could be a sign that the official reveal of the mid-engine Corvette is much further away than we’d like to think.