A mid-engined Corvette C7 could get right up Ferrari’s nose

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept

General Motors is planning a replacement for its current C6 Corvette and according to GM executives, the new C7 is going to be “completely different” from the current one. Rumours about the Corvette C7 being mid-engined have been doing rounds for quite a while now and with GM officials statements, it seems a mid-engined ‘Vette could well be on its way.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept

The current C6 evolved in to a sublime Zr1 which was one of the very first Corvette’s capable of taking the fight across the Atlantic. GM wants to position the new Corvette among the global elite supercar club comprising of Ferraris and Prosches. The C6 fell short on the global appeal front when compared to the Italians and Germans. Mark Reuss, President, GM North America also suggested that production of the Corvette C7 will start from 2013.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept-interior

The mid-engined layout will be a first for a Corvette and a headache for GM engineers to switch over from the current front-engine layout. However, adopting the new layout will improve handling dramatically. As we all know, out of the supercars and hypercars of the world most of them are mid-engined and rightly so, for a reason. Some also suggest that the new version might not have a thundering V8 under the hood. Instead, a modern V6 could adorn the space.

GM is investing $131 million in the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant that currently produces the Corvette and will move on to manufacture the new C7. What ever, goes under the hood, the C7 will be a Corvette never seen before and this is evident from the commitment shown by the engineers and designers at General Motors.