Next generation Corvette put on hold?
The C7 'Vette was never axed, in spite of GM's bankruptcy woes, but the official line until yesterday was that the project was 'on indefinite hold'.
Unfortunately the official confirmation provides few other details, other than the C7 will predictably retain its front-engine rear-drive configuration, and that production will start in April 2012 as a 2013 m/y year vehicle.
There's been loads of speculation about the new C7 of course, some of it focused around the Corvette Stingray Concept revealed at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. This car was actually built to star in a Transformers movie, and was a design exercise 'to incorporate past design cues in a fully futuristic shape'. However, it's not unfeasible that certain elements of the Stingray design will appear in the C7, and we're showing it to you again because we've nothing else to go on! (Some reports from the US have suggested that 'thematic links' between the C7 and the Stingray Concept might include the gills around the air intake, and the fins at the rear.)
Other speculation suggests the new 'Vette will get a double-clutch rear transaxle to keep it in line with the competition, and a smaller capacity supercharged V8 to help meet emissions and economy targets. It's likely also that GM will be forced to make more extensive use of lightweight materials and high-tech build methods to keep weight down, although the car's platform is said to be an incremental development of the C6 chassis.
10/22/08 General Motors' troubles with the type of green that really matters have thrown the Corvette's future into disarray.
Multiple sources confirm that the General's financial crisis has led the company to put whatever plans it had for the next-generation Corvette on indefinite hold, with no official or set timetable.
In this climate–we've even heard tales of janitors removing light bulbs from corporate headquarters in an effort to save money–not only is an all-new C7 now more than just a few years away, but even a significantly refreshed or upgraded C6 looks unlikely to appear anytime soon.
One version of the story says that when the decision was made to shelve the C7 for the time being, a plan was suggested to upgrade the C6 significantly in 2012 as a '13 model. Today's Corvette would be eight years old at that point and as much as 12 years old by the time the upgraded car was finally phased out in favor of the C7. Had this occurred, the C6 would have gone down as tied with the C4 generation as the second-longest-serving model in Corvette history. As things stand, multiple sources say this idea also is dead. AutoWeek