Lucas Bell 
It only takes one look at the C8 Corvette to know that it is unlike any other Chevrolet Corvette before it. A project nearly 60 years in the making, the C8 represents the ideas of one Zora Arkus Duntov coming to fruition. This mid-engined sports car marks a huge departure for the Corvette development team, and it is something they appear very proud to have built. So proud in fact that Chevrolet has just released a documentary about how they designed and engineered the all-new iteration of America’s sports car.
The documentary is titled “Revolution: The Mid-Engine Corvette Development Story,” and is available for viewing on YouTube. Chevrolet has released two parts thus far, with one focusing on the design team while the other follows the engineers. Both parts contain loads of never before seen footage, and include interviews with Chevrolet Corvette team members like Tom Peters, Tadge Juechter, and Oliver Gavin.
The first portion of the documentary follows the design team as they work through the challenge of sketching the C8 Corvette. The team had to figure out how to maintain the design elements of a Chevrolet Corvette while utilizing entirely new surfaces and shapes. In order to help with this process, they focused on the three main inspirations for every Corvette: previous iterations of the car, fighter aircraft, and motorsports. The design also had to be functional, which is something the team has focused on heavily since the C6 made its debut. The end result is the C8 we see today, which remains unmistakably a Chevrolet sports car.
As interesting as automotive design is, we know that some of you will be looking for more action from a Corvette documentary. That is where part two comes into play, as it is almost entirely based at GM’s test center at the Nürburgring. As a result, there is a load of footage of a C8 Corvette prototype tearing it up around the Green Hell. The engineers were also given a challenging task, as GM hasn’t built a mid-engine car since the Fiero. That said, the team in the video is clearly stoked about what they were able to achieve, and about how potent the C8 actually is.
If you are a longtime fan of the Chevrolet Corvette, or if the C8 Corvette is the first one to peak your interest, this documentary is worth a watch. It is refreshing to see how much General Motors cares about their halo product, and it makes us oh-so excited to see what the Z06 has in store for us.
