As the first mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette in production, the C8 broke new ground for the sports car. But does the C8 actually look like a Corvette? Hot rodder Chip Foose doesn’t think so, and he shared his thoughts on how to improve the design in a video on YouTube.
Foose said one of the things he liked most about the Corvette was the distinct evolution of the design over the first seven generations. That ended abruptly with the C8, as the proportions were completely changed to accommodate a motorbike behind the driver.
The mid-engine layout provides significant performance benefits, which helped the C8 win Motor Authority Best Car To Buy price, but it also erased the Corvette’s heritage, according to Foose, who believes the C8 looks too generic and too easily confused with other mid-engined cars like the Acura NSX.
Chip Foose draws the Chevrolet Corvette C8
Foose’s solution, as outlined in a sketch, takes more styling cues from the previous generation C7 Corvette. Foose used the C7’s front fender vents and spun them to serve as air intakes for the mid-engine. Foose’s version also has more pronounced rear hips and a longer hood, linking it more closely to the C7 and continuing that evolutionary line.
That design DNA could soon be stretched to its limits if reports that Chevy is considering an electric SUV with Corvette badges turn out to be true. That would take advantage of General Motors and Chevy’s new Ultium battery system to create a competitor to the Ford Mustang Mach-E, but as far as we know, the plan has not been approved.
The traditional Corvette could eventually go electric as well, as part of GM’s “drive” to remove tailpipes from its passenger car line-up by 2035. That would certainly open up many design possibilities.