ZR1 and Mid-Engine C8 Corvettes Spied Together in Cold-Weather Tests

2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (spy photo)

Fresh spy photos reveal that engineers for the Chevrolet Corvette are making the best of adverse traction and temperature conditions to complete their tests of the imminent C7 ZR1 and its successor, the mid-engined C8 Zora that we expect will break cover sometime next year.

Seeing both generations in the same shot should convince hard-core doubters that Chevrolet is serious about sliding the cabin forward to clear space in the middle of the Corvette for the variety of engines planned for the near future.

Peeking through the camo reveals slotted brake rotors instead of crack-prone cross-drilled designs. The rear view shows a low-mounted transversely oriented muffler, leaving ample trunk space behind and above the engine and transaxle. Also, there’s no evidence here that Chevy has any intention of satisfying some die-hard Corvette fans by returning to round taillamps.

2018 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (spy photo)

Meanwhile, preparations are proceeding at the Corvette’s Bowling Green, Kentucky, manufacturing plant. Recent investments encompass moving aluminum spaceframe manufacturing in-house ($ 52 million), relocation and expansion of the Performance Build Center engine facility ($ 47.5 million), a new paint shop ($ 439 million), plus $ 290 million for new assembly technologies and processes and the construction of a solar array capable of generating 1.2 million kilowatt-hours of energy annually.

General Motors has just announced that the Bowling Green facility will shut down at the end of 2017 model production for about three months,  beginning in June, to complete this work. When operations resume, the plant will first produce the 2018 model of the seventh-generation Corvette. With a total investment splurge topping $ 1 billion, it’s clear that GM is serious about invading the supercar realm with the C8.

2018-Chevrolet-Corvette-ZR1-(spy-photo)-REEL


Car and Driver BlogCar and Driver Blog

Post Author: martin

Martin is an enthusiastic programmer, a webdeveloper and a young entrepreneur. He is intereted into computers for a long time. In the age of 10 he has programmed his first website and since then he has been working on web technologies until now. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of BriefNews.eu and PCHealthBoost.info Online Magazines. His colleagues appreciate him as a passionate workhorse, a fan of new technologies, an eternal optimist and a dreamer, but especially the soul of the team for whom he can do anything in the world.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.