Manoli Katakis 
The day has come. It’s finally here. The mid-engined Corvette. After nearly five years of reporting on its development, the 2020 C8 Corvette Stingray has made its debut inside a massive air hanger in Tustin, California. And if you’ve been following along, you likely already have it in your mind as to whether or not you want one, and/or whether or not it’s one of the greatest achievements ever from General Motors: a mid-engined V8 supercar for a fraction of the price compared to vehicles of the same body style. It’s an American icon: rethought, reborn, and rejuvenated.
ENGINE
The 2020 Corvette C8 Stingray will be powered by a 6.2L V8 engine, code named LT2. As mentioned in previous articles, it is a modified version of the LT1 V8 from the C7 Stingray, with different exhaust and intake manifolds to package in this mid-engined application. And for the first time ever, the Corvette integrates a dual-clutch transmission. This one is sourced from Tremec, and has eight speeds. Its ECU will be damn near impossible to crack. Output from the LT2 equipped with the Z51 Performance Packages is a lively 495 horsepower, and 470 lb-ft of torque.
PERFORMANCE
The power from the C8 Corvette’s LT2 and its lightning-fast dual clutch transmission sends the mid-engined supercar from 0-60 in under three seconds. That’s faster than the 650 horsepower C7 Z06, and might even be faster than the 2.8 second 0-60 time of the 755 horsepower Corvette ZR1. Amazing.
INTERIOR
There are a lot of firsts here for the C8 Corvette. Starting with the steering wheel, we see a flat top with an indicator stripe, a flat bottom, and massive metal paddle shifters. It’s easily the most aggressive steering wheel we’ve seen in a Corvette, by far, and takes heavy inspiration from the racing program. There’s also the high-tech display screens, each of them driver focused. The passenger in the Corvette is not a priority here, and their reward for riding shotgun are multiple grab handles. The divider panel between both occupants is capped by a bevy of buttons that control the heated/cooled seats, as well as HVAC. Hey, people complained about a lack of buttons. So General Motors is giving us buttons. Additionally, there are button controls for the eight-speed DCT, in lieu of a gear shifter. This provides superior packaging, but Chevrolet opted to keep the cupholders covered.Overall, the design is very unique, highly athletic, and unmistakably Corvette.
As a surprise to us – there are two storage areas. There’s the expected frunk at the nose of the C8 Stingray – good enough for duffle bags. However, the larger cargo area in the rear – behind the engine itself – is large enough to fit whole golf bags.
PRICE
The 2020 Corvette is going to arrive somewhere with a starting MSRP of under $60,000. In other words, GM appeared to price a 20-oz cut of Italian horse meat to the equivalent of a Big Mac. What a time to be alive.
Let us know in the comments below what you think of the all-new Chevrolet Corvette.
