The new mid-engined Vette looks set to take the track.
Chevy keeps us enthralled with spy photographs of its road-going mid-engined Corvette. However, a new interview suggests the company may be working on a track version. Inadvertently, the new C8 Corvette racecar was confirmed by Larbre, a French racing team.
DailySportscar.com reports that Team Principal Jacques Leconte announced that Larbre Racing team will be using a Ligier prototype to compete in the WEC LMP2 Class this year, instead of the #50 C7.R Art Car the team used in LMGTE class last year. Leconte said that the C8.R racing car is still in development and that the C7.R Art Car is no longer an option.
“The story of Corvette isn’t over, though. Leconte stated that it was impossible to enter another C7.R into the GTE Am category. “This car is old and we wouldn’t have been able to secure a great line-up at Le Mans 2018. This car is still being developed so it was too early to get a C8.
We have much less information about the road car than we do about it. This news is even more reason to be excited. We believe that a few components of the road-going Corvette have been leaked as CAD images. These images include the engine/transaxle and rear subframe where the engine will be mounted. However, none of these images have been confirmed by the company.
The identity of the new C8 Corvette will only be revealed over time. It could have 850 horsepower (633kilowatts) from a 5.5-liter biturbo-V8 engine. A smaller, 4.2-liter engine could produce 650hp (484kW).