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Lately in the world of fast Chevrolets, it’s the long-awaited but still mysterious mid-engine Corvette that’s captured everyone’s attention. While there’s still a ton we don’t know, it’s slated to be the true exotic-killer the ‘Vette was always meant to be. But where does that leave the current king of front-engine Corvettes—the supercharged, 755 horsepower 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1?

Well, I can tell you the ZR1 doesn’t have the elegance or grace of the six-figure supercars it can compete against, but it is seriously fast. After a few hot laps around the Circuit Of The Americas, I think it deserves some respect. I just wish the cockpit lived up to the example set by the engine.

The Corvette ZR1 has been around since the 1969 C3 generation, where it served as a much more stealthy go-fast package, but the 2019 C7 model is the most extreme version yet.

The ZR1 variants pack way more power than the standard Corvette, optimized for the enthusiast who’s more concerned with lap times than the retiree who likes cruising some Georgia boulevard on a Saturday night. Chevrolet gave the supercharged V8 way more power over a standard Stingray or even the lesser Z06, added a full suite of wild aerodynamic enhancements all around, beefed up the brakes, and stiffened the suspension.

The Corvette ZR1 is mostly an upgrade over the also-supercharged C7 Z06, with several performance additions to that already great car which had a stout 640-HP supercharged V8, stiff chassis, and beefy brakes that can take a beating around a race track.

The ZR1's 6.2-liter supercharged V8 packs a factory-claimed 755 HP and 715 lb-ft of torque, and much of that punch is thanks to the Eaton supercharger that’s got a bigger displacement—2.6 liters to be exact—than some passenger car engines.

Even though the ZR1 is the baddest ’Vette you can currently buy, it’s still heavier than the Z06—Chevy says it tips scales at 3,560 pounds—because of all the added fluids and cooling needs. When you want to stomp the go pedal, Chevrolet claims the ZR1 will go from 0-60 mph in 2.85 seconds on its way to a 211 mph top track speed.

Those are crazy numbers, because the car is crazy fast.

The base MSRP for the ZR1 is $118,900, and this ZR1 I tested rang up an MSRP of $142,480, loaded with several options including 3ZR premium equipment (memory seats, power lumbar and bolster seat adjustments, Napa leather-covered heated and ventilated seats, splashes of leather touches around the interior, and additional carbon fiber on the steering wheel and instrument cluster), track performance package (Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, upgraded track-focused suspension, a massive rear wing spoiler, and front splitter end caps), and competition carbon fiber sport seats.

If you buy a ZR1 and don’t take it to the track, you’re wasting your money.

My friends in the Edge Addicts Track Rats group let me tag along around the Circuit of The Americas, a track I’m fortunate enough to be familiar with, and I made exceptional use of the time provided on an unseasonably pleasant December day.

The Corvette ZR1 boasts a bunch of track-focused improvements over the Z06 including doubling the number of fuel injectors, much more aerodynamic grip, and because plenty of C7 Z06 owners griped about heat soaking issues,Chevrolet added even more fluid and cooling parts than they did in the Z06’s revision.

Shoving a whopping 13 psi of supercharged boost down the LT5’s throat, the big V8 and massive blower and immediately command attention as you employ your right foot down a stretch of empty track.

Between COTA’s turns 11 and 12, down the three-quarter-mile back straight, a brave driver will hit 160 mph before standing on the brakes. The ZR1 gobbles up any straight portion of tarmac before testing the limits of your abilities once you need to mash the brakes and turn into a corner.

Once you do need to scrub off speed, massive Brembo six-piston front calipers squeeze down upon 394-mm carbon brake rotors, and four-piston rear calipers chomp on 390-mm rear discs. Feedback was perfectly balanced and consistent throughout my session. The brakes took lap after lap of being jumped on from speeds over 140 mph to 40 mph into COTA’s turn 1 and easily over 150 before braking for turn 12.

You do have to muscle the ZR1 around, though. I found myself putting more upper body work into the steering wheel of this car than in anything else I’ve driven around a track in the last couple years. That big wing out back certainly seemed to help keep the back end planted through any fast sweeper, but it pretty much consumes whatever semblance of rear visibility the Corvette may have had.

GM doubling the fuel injector size sure helps you go faster, but holy shit, this car is thirsty when you run it hard. I was easily dropping a third of the ZR1’s 18.5-gallon tank during each 25-minute session I spent on track. EPA estimates state the ZR1 gets 13/19/15 MPG in the city, highway, and combined, respectively, but when you’re doing a track day, you’re sinking deep into single-digit territory.

For track nuts like myself, the Performance Data Recorder comes standard on the ZR1 (also available on Cadillac V models), and provides dozens of data points regarding your lap times, steering angle, throttle and brake input, G loads, gear selection, and speed. If you download the Cosworth companion app, you can get a data and analysis to review on your personal computer.

Turn-in and steering feel is remarkably easy and predictable. The massive 285/30/19 front and 335/25/20 rear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s definitely help the ZR1 get grip and bite in the turns, and Chevrolet definitely got the updated magnetic ride suspension dialed in. I was fully expecting the ZR1 to be a bit disrupted around Circuit of The America’s bumps, but the car managed its weight well even when the road got a little rough.

Anything that gets around COTA in the mid- to low-2:20 range is quick, and the ZR1 easily finds itself in that grouping. The ZR1 is as fast as a McLaren 675LT here, and a couple seconds faster than a 911 GT3 RS, which is impressive for a car that costs much, much less and comes from the brand that also brings us the Trax.

Because there’s so much power under the hood, it’s not hard for an average driver to get a decent lap time around a track. If you’re not trying to seek your personal best lap record it’s remarkably easy to drive the ZR1 fast. GM has made this car simple to drive reasonably fast, but you do have to have some skills to get the most out of it.

Supercharged V8s should sound badass, and the ZR1’s LT5 is no exception. The blower whines as boost builds, and the rumbling exhaust note out back is more American than a slice of apple pie with a Kraft single on top. Paired with a PBR.

Even as it’s made huge leaps in quality since the bailouts, Chevrolet still isn’t exactly known for having the greatest fit and finish. But in a $140,000 car, I expected more here. You get the same sort of switches, buttons, and trim you get in a Malibu or Traverse and I can’t listen to anyone make excuses for that in a halo car. Even with the 3ZR trim option ticked, the interior appointments aren’t much to brag about.

The base Corvette Stingray has a starting price under $60,000, and you can tell Chevrolet packs loads of performance into that price tag. I wish it would do something to distinguish the ZR1 from your basic ’Vette inside, aside from some trim pieces. Compared to a new Mercedes-AMG or Porsche, which you can definitely get in this price point, the GM cockpit feels a bit bland.

I tip the scales at 190 pounds, and am 5-feet 11-inches. The competition seats may look sporty and be light, but they seem to be designed for heftier drivers. I was having to brace myself with the wheel and my left food pinned to the dead pedal to keep in place through harder turns. Harnesses are needed if you really want to stay still in these seats during a track day.

The paint finish isn’t great, and in good light I noticed the hood seems to be a different shade of black than the rest of the body panels. The owner of this car noticed it too. Making sure we weren’t crazy, we looked at a fellow ZR1 owner’s yellow car in the COTA paddock, and its hood was a lighter shade too. I get that Chevy gave the ZR1 a carbon fiber hood, but the paint shouldn’t look that different from panel to panel.

The hood is also much taller than the Z06’s, and blocks any visibility over the front right fender. You better hope you know any right-hand apex around a track, because there’s no way you can see it out of the windshield.

Sales of the Vette have been dropping, and the price is somehow going up for 2019. A ZR1 will set you back damn near $150,000, and that neighborhood is occupied by the Porsche 911 GT3, Acura NSX, Mercedes-AMG GT for only a little more cash.

With those competitors, you may not get the balls-out performance and low lap times you get from the ZR1, but you definitely get cars that are easier to live with when it comes to fit and finish, long-term enjoyment, and enjoyment both on and off track.

The ZR1 is fast as hell in any condition, and every bit a blast around a racetrack. But it still feels like Chevrolet has fallen short of making an elite halo car here. The mid-engined Corvette we keep hearing about will have to be a much more complete package to compete with other supercars on every level.

I imagine plenty of hard-working Americans at the plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky will hate me for this, but I’d spend my $150,000 elsewhere.

[Correction: this post was incorrectly edited to say that the ZR1’s fuel injectors doubled in size, when in fact they doubled in quantity as was originally written. The ZR1 has both direct injection and secondary port injectors, the latter of which add extra fuel under heavy load.]

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Though a mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette is now headed for production, the idea of a Corvette with such an exotic engine location is nothing new. Several such concepts were created, and at the 2019 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance this March, showgoers will be treated to the display of General Motors’ 1973 XP-987 GT—a Corvette concept with not just a mid-mounted engine, but a rotary one to boot.

The XP-987 GT concept car was the final vehicle to come from a short line of mid-engine concepts in the late 1960s and early ’70s. It was created to showcase GM’s experimental twin-rotor engine and automatic transaxle, and it joined the others as being decidedly different in direction for the company. Using a shortened mid-engine Porsche 914 chassis as a basis and Pininfarina-designed steel bodywork, the show car debuted at the 1978 Frankfurt auto show, where it got more than its fair share of attention.

Rotary power was investigated by GM for many of the same reasons Mazda was interested in the same engine design. Rotary engines are more compact and have fewer moving parts than typical piston-driven internal-combustion engines and are able to produce big power from relatively small displacement. By the mid-’70s, GM decided to abandon the rotary development program, citing difficulty meeting fuel economy and emissions standards—which remain the rotary engine’s two big drawbacks.

It seemed that XP-987 GT was destined for the scrap heap, when a last-ditch effort was made by Tom Falconer, an English Corvette enthusiast, to purchase the car. Although XP-987 GT had no engine or transaxle installed, Falconer was successful with his bid to GM chief designer Chuck Jordan and he brought the car home to Kent, England. There, Falconer first installed a Vauxhall four-cylinder engine, then later replaced it with a Mazda 13B rotary engine, in keeping with the car’s original intent. A front-wheel-drive Cadillac was the transmission donor. The car was kept on display in Kent for many years, until recently.

XP-987 GT will be displayed at the Amelia Island Concours as part of a special mid-engine sports-car class, with other featured cars including models from DeTomaso, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, according to a press release. Of course, rounding out a must-see event, we’ll also be announcing our 2019 Automobile Magazine All-Stars picks at the concours this year. The Amelia Island Concours d’Élégance weekend of events will take place March 7–10, 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton of Amelia Island and The Golf Club of Amelia Island in Fernandina Beach, FL.

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It seems all but inevitable we will be graced with a mid-engine C8 Corvette this year, according to numerous reports and our own sources. However, one dealer has taken a further step and begun taking deposits for the new sports car.

Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City, New Jersey, has opened a purchase list for would-be owners to reserve their own mid-engine C8 Corvette when they become available. The dealer, which claims it’s the biggest dealer in the U.S. for Corvette sales, requires a $1,000 deposit to add one’s name to the purchase list.

Once Chevrolet reveals final pricing for the car, either at the reveal or sometime after, those on the purchase list will be first to receive a buyer’s order. The documents will have customers fill out and specify a car to their liking. At that time, those on the purchase list can choose to refund their $1,000 deposit and not go through with the sale. If he or she continues, they will need to place another 5 percent of the purchase price down to receive their car before others. After that, the buyer’s order is signed and the $1,000 plus the 5 percent down is no longer refundable.

The dealer added it may have special accommodations for those who want to trade in another car.

Originally, it was thought the 2019 North American International Auto Show would play host to the mid-engine C8 Corvette’s debut. However, GM Authority learned the car has been plagued with electrical issues that delayed the car roughly six months. Now, we expect to see the car debut at a standalone event this summer, maybe as early as May.

Details are slim still, but we should see an upgraded 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine sitting in the middle of the base model, while DOHC V8s come shortly afterward to fill out the sports car’s powertrain portfolio in naturally aspirated and turbocharged guises.

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News on the industry’s worst kept secret keeps on surfacing, and the latest has to do with what the first-ever mid-engined C8 Corvette will be called. Or what at least one variant will be called, anyway.

According to a sleuth photo found on Carscoops, the all-new C8 Corvette will retain a familiar namesake, evident by the ‘Stingray‘ decal in the center of the cabin.

The Stingray name is nearly as old as the Corvette itself. Originally debuting on a concept car designed by the legendary Peter Brock in 1959, the Corvette Stingray (also spelled Sting Ray back then) faded out in 1976 before coming back in 2013 with the launch of the C7. It continues to serve as the entry level nameplate of the Corvette family, which includes the wide-bodied Grand Sport, then 650 horsepower Z06, and topped out by the 755 horsepower Corvette ZR1. The C7 Corvette Stingray comes from the factory with a minimum of 455 horsepower and carries an MSRP of just under $56,000. It is America’s best selling two-seat sports car.

The C8 Corvette is not expected to be too far a jump in overall price – appealing to much of the same budgets that feed the popularity of the marque. But that’s where the similarities are expected to end. Along with the mid/rear-engine placement, it’s likely that the C8 Corvette will have a dual-overhead cam V8 engine instead of the familiar small block V8, based of videos of the car pacing the Nurburgring. The C8.R Corvette race car also sounds wildly different from the C7.R, further pointing to a departure from engine traditions. Additionally, patent filings point to a dual clutch transmission system, and a clutch-by-wire electronic manual transmission system. These transmissions are also different from the 8-speed single clutch automatic, and familiar seven-speed manual we see today. The steering wheel on the C8 Corvette also has been spied with a flat top, mimicking the wheel of a race car.

GM trademark filings also point to other Corvette names likely to come. These include Corvette Manta Ray, Corvette E-Ray, and the mysterious Zora trademark – derived from Zora Arkus-Duntov, the “Father of the Corvette.” With these names in mind, along with the currently used Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1, we could be in for a breadth of C8 Corvette variants for years to come. Stay tuned for more.

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The redesigned 2020 Chevrolet Corvette's new engine is reportedly so powerful that it's compromising the vehicle's structural integrity in testing, causing General Motors to delay the car's reveal, according to an industry report.

Sports car fans have been anxiously awaiting the debut of the eighth generation of the Corvette, which got its last total overhaul with the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

But the 2019 Detroit auto show, which would have provided a major global stage for the vehicle's unveiling, came and went in January with no reveal.

What gives?

Well, it sounds like GM engineers are scrambling to get the vehicle ready for prime time, in part because they made it so powerful that the vehicle is bumping up against physical limitations.

Classic-car insurer Hagerty reports that a Corvette prototype with a twin-turbocharged, 8-cylinder engine is generating 900 to 1,000 horsepower and is causing a "structural distortion of the aluminum spaceframe" during tests.

"The twist in back was enough to fracture the glass hatch covering the engine," Hagerty reports. "Be glad this flaw was discovered in advance of your top speed runs in Chevy’s designated Ferrari-beater."

At those speeds, the new "C8" sports car would be faster than the 2019 ZR1 performance model, which GM has bragged is the fastest-ever 'Vette at a top speed of 210 miles per hour.

Other bugs, including electrical issues, are also still being worked out, according to Hagerty.

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The only folks more excited than us about the C8 Corvette may be Chevrolet dealers, eager for a piece of the action. After all, the mid-engined C8 is one of the most hotly anticipated new sports cars in a long while.

However, Chevrolet dealers looking to sell new Corvettes for fun and profit (but mostly profit) will have to jump through a few hoops first according to CorvetteBlogger. The information comes from a GM-produced monthly podcast intended for dealers. The most recent podcast broke down all of the relevant information and explained the two available programs.

The programs are called "Corvette Dealer" and "Signature Corvette Dealer." A standard Corvette Dealer must invest around $5,000 for the privilege of selling the new Corvette. That includes all of the requisite training materials, a $3,500 trip for one sales representative to Spring Mountain Motorsports in Las Vegas for more in-depth training, and $1,500 in specialty tools for the new car.

We agree with CorvetteBlogger that the low cost of admission for dealers is a good thing – especially the cost of the specialty tools. To us, that means that, despite obvious major changes, the new Corvette will remain as simple and user-serviceable as ever.

The Signature Corvette Dealer program requires that a Service Manager or Service Advisor be sent to Spring Mountain as well, and demands compliance with something GM calls the "Corvette Participation Agreement." On the plus side, Signature Corvette Dealers will be showcased on Chevrolet's website for prospective customers.

Another opportunity, independent of either program, is participation in the C8 Mobile Tour. For $16,000 (for one day) or $25,000 (for two days), GM will send a pair of new C8 Corvettes, along with a factory-approved expert, to show the cars to prospective clients and assist in ordering new cars.

These tours will begin before C8 production starts in December, and should offer a great opportunity for dealers to drum up interest. We're hoping that our local dealers will spring for the program so that we can check it out ourselves. When that happens, you'll read all about it here.

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The aftermarket may have a tough go with the mid-engine 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette.

The mid-engine sports car has a "unique encrypted ECU system," according to a Tuesday report from Muscle Cars & Trucks. Per the report, any changes in the pursuit of more horsepower to the ECU will be a difficult task, if not impossible.

It's worth noting the 2020 Corvette will likely be one of the many new cars from General Motors to use the automaker's new electrical architecture, which has been floated as one of many reasons why the car was subject to delays. The "digital architecture" not only boosts output for future in-car technologies but also puts a major focus on cybersecurity. The latter is reportedly one of the major roadblocks to ECU tuning.

In the event re-programming fails, the mid-engine Corvette will enter a "recovery mode." Like a rolling computer, the car will need to be rebooted. Those who don't have the resources to restore the car's ECU will be left with a "bricked" sports car, sources said.

ECU tuning is often an essential means of squeezing more power from a car. It can be as simple as unlocking more power from the parts that are already there or retuning to match new parts, including new or larger turbochargers or superchargers. Yet, where there's a will, there's a way. That way may involve a few bricked mid-engine Corvettes along the way. The Corvette has always been a prized car for aftermarket companies to tinker with. This time, they may not be able to crack into the ECU and if they can they will have to be careful not to brick the C8.

The 2020 Corvette will—finally—debut on July 18 in California. The common thought has been that the car will come with an upgraded version of the Corvette's current pushrod 6.2-liter V-8 making about 500 horsepower. However, the Muscle Cars & Trucks story expects the engine at launch to be a dual-overhead cam V-8 called LT-2. It was previously speculated that a DOHC V-8 with a flat-plane crank would come later and make about 600 hp. Rumors also suggest a twin-turbocharged V-8 and even a hybrid powertrain are on the table. The latter could sport all-wheel drive with its electrified running gear.

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We are only three days away from the launch of the much-anticipated 2020 Corvette C8 and Chevrolet continues to tease its brand new, mid-engined sports car

This time, the automaker has released images of the official Corvette and Stingray badges that will adorn the C8

Chevy’s big news is the fact that the 2020 Corvette will debut as a Stingray on July 18. We already knew that thanks to the exclusive interior pics we brought you earlier this year, but it’s good to have official confirmation as well.

“Chevrolet is proud to announce the Stingray name will live on,” the carmaker says, reminding us that the second-generation Corvette debuted as a Stingray in 1963 and the nameplate carried on until 1967 before being revived in 2014 by the Corvette C7.

We have to admit the new Stingray badge looks pretty cool. The lettering appears to use the same font as the “Corvette” one, except the latter gets a three-dimensional look.

As for the new 2020 Corvette Crossflags, it looks more modern than before. It will be available in two finishes, Chrome and Carbon, with the latter presumably gracing high-performance versions or models equipped with a lightweight carbon package.

When the 2020 Corvette debuts in Orange County, California, in entry-level Stingray guise, it’s expected to come with a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 known as the LT2. Derived from the LT1 found in the C7 Z51 and Grand Sport models, the updated engine is expected to deliver between 480 and 500 HP and a peak torque of around 480 lb-ft (650 Nm), slightly up compared t the LT1’s 460 hp and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm).

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