Rumors About a Mid-Engine Corvette Starting to Sprout Legs

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (Credit: © General Motors)

The chatter about a mid-engine Corvette has gone on for ages, but it has never been this loud. Following the trademark of the “Zora” name — the father the Corvette’s name — the talk of this car grew exponentially. Motor Trend started the  started the hoopla with a speculation-heavy rundown of the mid-engine Zora, but I took that with a grain of salt because there was no mention of sources. Now, Car & Driver’s October 2014 issue has a full exclusive spread on the Corvette Zora ZR1, AKA the mid-engined Corvette.

According the C&D, the Zora ZR1 is already in development for the C8-generation Corvette, and it will debut as a 2017 model year. As expected, the Zora ZR1 will be produced in super-low numbers and will carry a price tag in the $150k region.

Additionally, the report goes on to talk about how the body will use carbon composites to help save weight. This will also add the much-needed rigidity to withstand the amount of power and G-forces the body will endure.

Under the skin will be a familiar, small-block, GM engine mounted just forward of the rear axle, but there were no power estimates given. Supporting the Zora ZR1 will be the C7’s aluminum space frame that has been modified for extra rigidity

Rounding out the rumor-spreading by C&D is information on the chassis. These underpinnings will include C7 control arms, composite leaf springs, magnetic dampers with full ride control, and a set of Brembo brakes to bring the mid-engine fun to a halt.

As I said before, this is simply just a rumor for now, but Car & Driver seems to know something that all of us do not about this project. The good thing is that we only need to wait for the 2017 model year to find out if the report is true.