C8 Corvette Reveal: What Do You Expect?

Interior

Samebutdifferent said:

You mean to tell me Eleanor Roosevelt isn't the bad ass I thought she was...  Now I'm crushed. 

 

"Ellie" as I prefer to call Mrs. Roosevelt, has dope drifting skills, Yo.  

mr2s2000elise said:

Interior

 

Well, all those buttons on the passenger side of the console is...........interesting?

I'll take a two-year old GT interior in every way except display size. 

Exterior

It looks pretty cool. Given the history of the Corvette back to the cerv prototypes, this seems logical. I'll never afford one of these ones, but it should be pretty interesting to see the power progression.  

Not sure about the scoop behind the door...

6.2-liter V8 called LT2 mated to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic...495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque.

Not bad. Definitely ties to the C7, particularly the overblown side scoop. They'll obviously stop building the Camaro since they will now have to use all their ass ends for the new vette.

I think it looks pretty good, just does not really look very “corvette-ish”. Will be interesting when it starts getting released, see what the real numbers are. 

Disappointed there was no Wankel.

For a mid engine V8 I think it looks good and still VERY Corvette. I do not think it looks as good as the C7...though I didn’t like the C7 that much till I saw one in the wild.

Pics of that burgundy color aren’t doing it any favors. I like the white.

That center console with 9000 tiny buttons makes zero sense and is visually appalling to me. It is also not very conducive to non-driving-related activities one at least *hopes* to engage in when driving a corvette.

As someone else mentioned: I’m just glad GM is still building CARS.

Sub $60k makes a hell of a case for a daily/GT car. 

Dumb question: Corvette is mid engined now. It has the relevant parts. What does that mean for used exotic car prices? It's going to play in the price range that would get you a Gallardo, R8 or 360 Modena. New Vettes have to take some of the people who want a mid-rear engined car.

Some, I'm sure, will still want the status and sticky buttons, or will favor the flatter depreciation curve of buying an older exotic, or maybe just want to save the manuals (is "save the single-clutch automatic" a thing? Are we about to see a dip in used Audi R8 V8 prices? 

Anyone else see lots of Evora and a cheap body kit?

That longitudinal switch panel is horrible.   Our Camaro has the same switches (but fewer) horizontal on the dash, and it's one of the few things that bug me about the car.  They're too small to operate easily while driving.   I imagine having to turn your head 90* isn't going to make it better.

Looks like the performance will be spectacular, though...

It looks okay, but not exceptional. It's a bit too busy. It's interesting how different colors really change the lines of it.

Looks like the moved the power curve up a bit to find the extra 35HP, peak torque is now 500rpm later.

I don't what to be that guy, but I'm kind of surprised with the weight of it. A C6 Z06 was 3100lbs which was very impressive given the size of the vehicle and weight of competitors vehicles. Despite being the same platform, the C7 gained a bunch of weight for some reason and the base all aluminum C8 now looks to be 500lbs more than the C6 Z06.

Base tires are all season michelin PS AS4. Are we at the point where all seasons have now supplemented the need for >200tw summer tires, or is this a bad move?

I'm fine with the body and excited by the performance, but the interior is meh. For starters, it screams "Chevy" which is to say that while you sit in this amazing car, part of you keeps whispering "Cobalt, Malibu, Volt". Secondly the switchgear is stupid. Most designers focus on things like heads-up displays and intuitive design. How the hell is  taking your eyes WAY off the road conducive to a performance driving experience? Hello 1978.

The best thing that the Corvette interior designers could have done is hired some guys away from Mazda, whose entry-level sedan interior looks much better than the Chevy flagship.

Snrub said:

It looks okay, but not exceptional. It's a bit too busy. It's interesting how different colors really change the lines of it.

Looks like the moved the power curve up a bit to find the extra 35HP, peak torque is now 500rpm later.

I don't what to be that guy, but I'm kind of surprised with the weight of it. A C6 Z06 was 3100lbs which was very impressive given the size of the vehicle and weight of competitors vehicles. Despite being the same platform, the C7 gained a bunch of weight for some reason and the base all aluminum C8 now looks to be 500lbs more than the C6 Z06.

Base tires are all season michelin PS AS4. Are we at the point where all seasons have now supplemented the need for >200tw summer tires, or is this a bad move?

I thought it was mentioned the base weight was under 3400?

z31maniac said:

I thought it was mentioned the base weight was under 3400?

Quoting C&D: Chevy is quoting a dry weight of 3366 pounds, which means a likely curb weight of around 3600 pounds.

European manufacturers like to quote dry weights, I guess GM is getting in on the act too.

Kreb said:

How the hell is  taking your eyes WAY off the road conducive to a performance driving experience?

Just how often are you adjusting the HVAC for your passenger while performance driving?

I wonder how many of those buttons are redundant for the touch screen.  I think they heard us screaming we don't want to use a touch screen for everything and this is the compromise between having an adequately sized modern touch screen and physical buttons for haptic feedback.  That looks like a battle they couldn't win no matter which choice they made.  How are the exterior dimensions compared to a C7 do we know?  The C7 was a bigger car than the C6 which is part of why it weighs more.

No manual.  Good grief.  (cue sad trombone)

In reply to red_stapler :

So those 20 buttons are for the passenger? If so, I retract that part of my indignation  

In reply to Matt B :

Would it be great if the C8 had a manual? Of course. But I think the fact that we got a naturally aspirated V8, that makes nearly 500HP no less, should be a big WIN for enthusiasts. Couple that with the price point of the base car, and I have a hard time understanding how you can come away from the release of this car anything less than majorly impressed. Obviously, final judgments need to wait until people actually get their hands on the car, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I could actually see myself buying one of these cars in 5 years time, which I didn't really expect.

Exterior's not bad but it's not exactly good either. Looks like there was little to no padding on the camo'd test cars. That scoop behind the door is very questionable, and I foresee a big aftermarket for front bumpers, those big squared-off scoops remind me of the Toyota Mirai. I'm sure they're good from a functional standpoint, but they're not easy on the eyes.

The interior's...in line with Corvette tradition, oddly what it reminded me most of was the Mk4 Supra, with its big wraparound ribbon of flat surfaces facing the driver.

Also not happy about the lack of an H-pattern manual option, and the weight's a bit of a letdown. On the plus side, the price has surprisingly not escalated, which is very good news,  Overall, I guess it's not bad? It's still at least as much of a dollars-for-performance bargain as the C7.