GM: No Mid-Engine Corvette Coming, Hybrid Possible

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For nearly the entirety of the Corvette’s history, there has been speculation and rumor surrounding America’s sports car. Most of that rumor has had to do with the Corvette’s engine layout. Traditionally, the Corvette has had a front-engine/rear-drive layout, though GM has fueled the rumor fire by building a series of mid-engine Corvette concept cars. Lately, rumor from an unnamed Saab source said that GM had been working on a mid-engine Corvette with a wet-clutch transmission.

Alas, Automotive News reports that GM is out to squash those rumors, that there is no mid-engine Corvette coming to market anytime soon. A hybrid Corvette, however, isn’t entirely out of the question.


Picture: GM

GM’s vice president of global engineering, Karl-Friedech Strake, set out to stamp down the swirling rumor firestorms about the Corvette going for a mid-engine layout. Strake told AN “I don't know who made this public. I think it is wrong.” There are no plans for a mid-engine Corvette, nor any mention of a possible concept car. Going a step further, Dan Flores, a GM communication spokesmen said “the rumors and speculation about the Corvette are just that. There is no mid-engine in the plans.”

That is kind of disappointing. Nor has GM been testing any V6-based Corvettes, with rumor suggesting that perhaps a twin-turbo V6 might be on its way. However, Strake did seem to contemplate the hybridization of the Corvette. “That is an interesting idea,” he told AN. He cited Porsche as a company that is heading towards hybridization of its performance fleet. As fuel economy standards stiffen, enthusiasts will still want performance. “You could keep a normal powertain configuration for a small amount of very excited car enthusiasts,” Stracke said. “And turn 80 to 90 percent of your sports-car portfolio to hybridization.”

A hybrid Corvette? It is starting to look more and more like a possibility.




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