BOLD CHEVROLET CORVETTE DESIGN PREVIEWS AN EXCITING FUTURE BEYOND C8

The Chevrolet Corvette has had a rather evolutionary design over the years. It was historically characterized by a low front end, long hood, sloping fastback rear glass, short rear overhang and quad taillights. While the style was modernized over the years, that basic template was in place for decades. That is, until the C8 Corvette debuted in 2019. It tore up that design blueprint, boasting an all-new mid-engined platform with dramatically different proportions. Yes, many of the details were unmistakably Corvette, but it was the biggest change the Corvette had ever seen. But now that General Motors’ iconic sports car has a mid engined layout, how could we see that design progress over time?

Over on the General Motors Design Instagram page, which we’ve featured on Muscle Cars and Trucks before, a futuristic design shows a bold direction Chevrolet could take the Corvette in future generations. It’s a very simple rendering, appearing to be carved out of a single block of metal, and thus lacking defined wheels and glass.

It’s also very clearly mid-engined, or electric, with a cab forward design. It’s more organic looking than the C8 Corvette, especially at the rear. The current C8 generation is very boxy around the rear, although it’s getting wider hips with the upcoming Z06 and E-Ray models. This design has more flowing shapes and fewer hard creases. It also has a neatly integrated rear wing that stretches across the tail, allowing air to pass under it without sticking up too high. It also flows into easily the most controversial aspect of this sketch: the taillights.

 

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Out are the typical quad taillights we’ve come to expect on a Corvette, and in their place is a thin set of LED units. If you squint, there do appear to be two sections on each side, but they’re so thin it’s hard to be sure.

Finally, the Corvette badges are given a clean, simple design on the rear wing and wheels. They are just an angled red and white line in place of the flags, but appear to be illuminated. Current design trends are moving towards simplifying logos, so it wouldn’t be too outlandish to see something like this on a Corvette of the future.

While this probably isn’t a cheeky look at the C9 Corvette, it could be a design philosophy GM will pursue after the C8 generation runs its course.