Audi R8 Forums banner

New Corvette C8

15K views 78 replies 53 participants last post by  NZV10 
#1 ·
Now that the car was unveiled last night..
Mid engine
Close to 500 HP
60k starting
I think it looks great
What do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
I dig it for the most part. As a former C5 and C6 owner I'm happy to see them diverge from the old ways. The only thing I can't get on board with is that **** strip O' buttons along the entire center console. :confused:
 
#3 ·
I've had many vettes and i'm glad they finally went to the ME, I to have issues with the interior as well as the back end. to me it looks like the front and back are from to different cars, the front being the 488 (which they benchmarked for it) and the back looks camaroish, does not look very cohesive.
also the rear is very high and from a rear view you don't get that wide low stance you expect from an ME.
 
#4 ·
Looks very good, agree about the row of buttons, but what a bargain price! should rock the U.S.A. market for sports cars, $70k and upwards for a used R8 or $60k for a new Corvette ? hummmm decisions decisions !!!!!
 
#5 ·
I've never been a huge Corvette fan - I appreciate their performance, but the styling has never been something I've lusted over. But, I do think they hit a home-run with the shift to mid-engine. This had to be done in order to continue progressing the performance of the car. I don't necessarily think they nailed the aesthetics - it looks a bit frumpy and awkward in some areas, but I expect that's mainly due to the fact that they were trying to evolve a front-engine design into a mid-engine design and weren't willing to completely throw away the old and start from scratch.

I give GM a lot of credit. This was NOT an easy task. The typical Corvette buyer didn't want the layout to change, and they had to do quite a lot to keep the car recognizable as a Corvette, while accommodating a lot of what made it what it is: affordable, comfortable, usable storage, etc. On a side note about this, Jalopnik had an article a few days ago suggesting that "Boomers" were angry about the new layout. I was extremely disappointed in the editor, Jalopnik in general, and the commenters (for the most part), since it was filled with vitriol, bigotry, and stereotypes... peppered with quite a few ageist and even political comments that have no place in the car enthusiast world. In fact, I was so shocked by a lot of it, that I may stop reading Jalopnik altogether. I'm not a Boomer... a young Gen-Xer, in fact... but I felt disgusted after reading the article, and even more so the hateful comments. Apparently Jalopnik is NOT welcoming to people from all demographics - age being one of them - and seems quite OK to accommodate what amounts to hate-speech in their comments section.

But back to the C8. I think it'll sell well. I'm shocked that they managed to keep the base price so reasonable after what must have been a massive investment. The interior looks like a nice step up - although, I'm sure the fancier of the options we're seeing will likely lead to a much more expensive car. But man, what a bargain still - sub 3 second for well under $100k?? Yes, I think it'll sell very well.

The only shame here is that I wish GM did this 10 or 20 years ago - because this could easily be the first and last generation before we just have an electric, or minimally, hybrid C9. And, for that reason, special editions of this car may instantly become very collectible - the only combustion-engine powered mid-engine Corvette? Who knows.

Congratulations, GM!
 
#7 ·
The entry price is certainly worthy of consideration and they are also offering it in right hand drive. mmmmmmmmmmm
 
#9 ·
It looks a bit angular for my taste. I like a bit more curves on my car. But the price - Wow!
Took a bit to find a picture with the door open as I was wondering what that piece of the intake would look like.
Ford's got the GT but it's $$$. Interesting to see if they do anything with the Mustang.
 
#10 ·
I'm digging it. I was never a fan of Vettes, but the C8 looks to be awesome. When the land, I'll go take a look and make a more informed decision, but based on the numbers (including $) and pics, it's a winner for GM.

-td
 
#11 ·
american cars have always been the performance bargain, so that's nothing new. The midengine platform though does spice things up a bit, the price point is competing with midengine porsches and alfas, with a lot more power of course. As usual the interior leaves a lot to be desired, and the exterior design is rather piece meal. I really dislike the busy backend (someone said camaroish and i agree, the tacky wing, the corvette tailights, the shrunken aventador rear vents,the lack of diffuser and breaking up the rear bumper into 2 pieces etc.) and that angular side air inlet lip in black is probably my biggest complaint, breaks ups all the lines of the car in what's considered a pretty good side profile. The directional lighting of the promo pictures help hide it better, in daylight at noon kind of lighting, I would imagine it to look horrible. The front end is decent but it could go lower in profile. The bird's eye view of the rear engine hatch is like looking at the Transformer's logo.

It's a great start and I am glad it doesnt look that good, otherwise our european supercar values might plummet lol....
 
#12 ·
0-60 in under 3 sec !!! How is that even possible with 490 hp ??
 
#15 ·
many ways to do it but it boils down to (mostly) gearing.

Massive torque and low gearing. With modern 7-8-9 speed boxes you can have great acceleration without sacrificing top speed much.
 
#13 ·
Honestly, the more I look into this thing, the more impressed I am. Truly. I'm not a huge fan of the looks - as I said, they're a bit awkward in spots to me. But it's still a good looking car... but man, did they listen and get some things right.

- Frunk AND Trunk - those golf clubs still have a place to land.

- Targa top is still here AND has a place to live in the trunk. What other mid-engine cars are doing this? I wish more. I love the concept of targa tops.

- Naturally Aspirated V8 - this one, to me, deserves some of the most applause. I love NA engines, and I can't believe we're here in 2019 getting a brand new mid-engine sports car with a big, NA V8... no less at $60k and doing 0 - 60 in sub-3 seconds.

- The interior is looking like a huge step up, especially in the two-tone leather options - lots of premium looking materials.

- Front end lift kit with infotainment system that automatically remembers where (GPS-wise) you've lifted before and does it for you? Convenient AND clever!

I'm honestly more impressed than I thought I'd be - big kudos to GM on it. This thing is going to sell like hot cakes without a doubt... and just wait until the 700hp variants arrive.

Good overview here along with some commentary by the designer and others.

 
#14 ·
Kudos on mid engine (finally, ZADuntov must smiling) and on the storage space front and back!

Styling, I'll wait to see one in person. In photos, not my cup of tea. Way too much going on. I can pick inspiration from most super and hyper cars built into the Vette but that doesn't mean it works when thrown together.

Custom body part shops will have a field day making new noses and tails for it. And, at the price of admission they will sell a lot.

Interior a big step up from the prior Vette's which looked like too similar to that on my Chevy truck.

Regretfully, IMHO, Vette's don't age well (with the exception of the very early ones and the original split window - 1963 Stingray). I hope its different this time around.
 
#20 ·
I'm pretty sure they've already confirmed it will need the Z51 for sub 3 second - better tires, suspension, brakes, aero and sport exhaust. That said, the current z51 package is a 5k option, not a 30k option, not sure how you're imagining it'll be near 100k for that. I would be very surprised if even a fully optioned one gets beyond 80k.

To dertizjos, I would argue this car is not in any way meant to be a supercar. Corvette has always been an american sports car. The higher trims compete with supercars, but Corvette has never been about exclusivity really - being exclusive means low sales numbers, and there's not much money in that.

I think they hit this one out of the park - impressive numbers, mid engine transition, great base features, improved interior, all without bumping the price point more than a few thousand. Would I trade my R8 for one - never. Would I consider buying one - absolutely, which I've never said about a Corvette before.
 
#17 ·
Yes, Kudos to GM for creating the car Duntov always wanted and for stepping up to the next level. I have always appreciated vettes and am a fan with having owned a C4 with the first 6 speed manual. The price point is extraordinary for what you are getting however we all know the price goes up once you start adding the "necessary options" but still a bargain and while not everyone's cup of tea, GM did the best they could to attract new buyers while retaining existing. The kicker to me is that GM has finally achieved what Audi created 10 years ago. While I am a fan, there is no reason to change it for my 10 year old V10 with a better, yet dated interior and I still can shift on my own. For about equal money you can buy a new vette with the needed upgrades or a used R8 V10 and add a third party warranty for equality and peace of mind. Anyone up for debating this?
 
#18 ·
It looks great. The prospective performance numbers are amazing. The price point is sick. The base features are top tier.

Here is the problem. Exotics or Supercars are supposed to be unique and when seen, grab that wow factor because of the rarity. With the price point, this car will loose steam in less than a year because there will be one on every corner and every stop light in the states.

I kinda wished they kept the front engined Corvette and then produced this as a separate car, calling it just Stingray, made it 750hp and a 150k or up. I would be all in.

With all of that said, I do like it.
 
#19 ·
I'm not a big fan of Corvettes but have always respected them for their brute power.

The C7 was a big improvement over the previous models but not enough to sway me away from the R8.

The C8 on the other hand looks really nice. I'm glad GM took a huge leap in the right direction and made the Corvette look really nice.

55-60k for a 500 HP mid engine car is insanely a great bang for the buck deal. Heck, my 1991 mr2 turbo was 25k back in 1990 which is 45-50k in today's money and that car was a bang for the buck winner over cars like the Nissan 300zx twin turbo or Mazda RX-7 which cost 35k at the time which is 60k in today's money.
 
#21 ·
This is a beautiful F430 clone. Rear end must have been an after thought because its in typical Chevrolet fashion: a chunky hodgepodge of bumps, bulges, cuts and lines that just dont flow. Quad exhaust tips with squared edges? Why?

It also looks like it has 3 different rear diffusers.

Everything looks stylish in the most F430 way, except the rear end that stays true to Chevy form.

I'll take two.
 
#24 ·
Lots of theoretical comments but at the end of the day...

$60k
0-60 sub 3 seconds
all motor
removable roof
GPS lift system

This is a bonkers deal. $10k more than a Supra this is a no brainer. It's cheaper than the Alfa Romeo 4C was lol. I've had a C6 and a C7 before fun cars and great bang for your buck. 500hp is a sweet spot for RWD on their platforms. I'll hold out for the Z06 because the R8 V10 Plus smokes the C8 (as it should) based on price. I just hope if they go for higher power they add power to the front drivetrain or figure out a RWD traction system like the McLaren's or else it'll be spin city (been there done that on a boosted LS3).

End of the day, it just makes you wonder how much profit other companies are making on their performance platforms (I'm looking at you Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren). Premiere this C8 and slap a "Ferrari 485 GTB" or "McLaren 590S" badge on it and add a 200-300k sticker and it would still sell. That's a home run in my book.
 
#26 ·
Thank you for doing this. Lazy exterior design work on GM's part.
 
#30 ·
The Ford GT, Ferrari Enzo, Dodge Viper, Nissan GTR and BMW i8 beg to differ. Chevy just made an affordable F430 (or NSX - tks Old Phart). It's a sad truth. Like I said, I'll take two. :)
 
#32 ·
Hi Jaxkewl
I think initially the price will drop on R8's due to the newness of the C8 but give it a year and once the streets are flooded with them the price should recover. The fact they dropped the manual transmission should bode well for the standard transmission guys. I must admit GM did a good job on this one. The Z06/ZR1 versions should be wild. I'm quite surprised GM has build this and offered it for $60k Well Done
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top