Rumor: Hybrid C8 Corvette to Make Up to 1,000 HP, Will Be AWD
Chevrolet might still be denying the very existence of a mid-engine Corvette, but that won’t stop (in fact it encourages) the rumor mill from turning fast. The latest rumors surround the engine and just how much hp it’ll pump out.
Car and Driver published a report that was oddly light on sources claiming that the upcoming rear-mid ‘Vette will have four engine options over the coming years, the first of which being an LT1 making making around 500 hp.
The second, claims C&D, will be a 5.5-liter DOHC V8 making around 600 hp. The engine’s piece d’irrisistence, though, will be its flat-plane crank that will allow it to rev up to 9000 rpm (though production cars will be limited to less than that for reliability’s sake).
Third, Chevy will allegedly strap a pair of turbos to that same engine and pump up the power to around the mark. Each of these will weigh in at around 3,500 lbs and will send the power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual clutch transaxle co-developed with Tremec.
SEE ALSO: Chevy Just Told its Dealers About the Mid-Engine Corvette
But Car and Driver promised 1,000 hp and 1,000 hp they will allege. That figure, they say, will come from that oh so modern of inventions, the hybrid drive system. By adding an electric motor making about 200 hp where the frunk would normally go sending power to the front wheels, the C8 could make nearly 1,000 combined hp and join the all-wheel drive supercar club.
The publication also claims that we’ll finally see the car next spring, which feels like an awfully long time to wait and an even awfuller long time for Chevy to keep up its denial charade.
[Source: Car and Driver]
A version of this story originally appeared on GM Inside News.
Sebastien is a roving reporter who covers Euros, domestics, and all things enthusiast. He has been writing about the automotive industry for four years and obsessed with it his whole life. He studied English at the Wilfrid Laurier University. Sebastien also edits for AutoGuide's sister sites VW Vortex, Fourtitude, Swedespeed, GM Inside News, All Ford Mustangs, and more.
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Just saw the photos of the likely C-8 design within the C&D article. Don't know about you folks, but it is NOT an attractive shape from any angle. Very "heavy" looking from the A pillar rearward with a claustrophobic shaped cabin and a VERY tall ass end. Compared to Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren, it already looks dated. Sad.
looks like Chevy is trying to beat Ford at its "GT" game. Ford wins as their GT was a ground up, purpose built racecar that happened to evolve into a street car for "the rules" This mid-engined Corvette should not exist at all and Chevrolet should have designed a new, separate car, with elements of the Corvette to keep design costs down, but it should have been a completely new Halo vehicle for them. By going mid-engine and "evolving" the current Corvette to fit the new engine location, Chevrolet and Corvette are not going to do well. It is one thing to have a carbon fiber bodied psuedo-"Corvette" in the Prototype class of a popular race series; it is another thing to make a FR car a MR car and still make it look like the evolution of the car it is replacing.