Connect with us

Chevy Makes a Big Investment in the Corvette Plant Stoking Mid-Engine Rumors

(Credit: Chevrolet )

Latest Car News

Chevy Makes a Big Investment in the Corvette Plant Stoking Mid-Engine Rumors

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (Credit: Chevrolet )

GM has been in the middle of a circulating rumor regarding a mid-engine Corvette seemingly forever. However, in recent years, the rumormill has picked up steam thanks a mule getting caught testing in Holden garb and reports of leaks from multiple news outlets. Here is even more fuel to add to the fire, as GM has just invested another $439 million into updating the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY.

The majority of the money GM is investing is going into building a 450,000-square-foot paint shop for the Corvette plant. This paint shop will receive a dry scrubber booth with a limestone-handling system to help eliminate sludge water and waste, LED lighting for final visual inspection, FANUC robots with Versa-Bell 3 electrostatic applicators for super-smooth paint finishes and 25 percent less waste, and more efficient baking ovens.

Also included in this budget are new robots and tooling. These are the most interesting, as new tooling typically means that something is either broken, outdated, or changing. Given GM just invested $135 million in the plant when the Stingray debuted leads me to believe that this is likely due to a significant change. Could these be to accommodate the new mid-engine Zora ZR-1 Corvette? Only time will tell.

Regardless of whether the mid-engine corvette ever becomes a reality or not, this investment shows that GM remains all-in with the Corvette and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Let me know in the comments whether you think this huge investment could be the writing on the wall for the mid-engine Corvette or if you think I am reading too much into this.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Latest Car News

SPONSORED

Newsletter

Get Our StoriesIn Your Inbox

Subscribe for our latest news, reviews, and lists.

Popular Stories

Recent Posts

SPONSORED
To Top