Sam Krahn 
The C8 generation Chevrolet Corvette was the most radical shift the sports car has ever taken. With the move to a mid-engined configuration, the Corvette is knocking on the supercar door in terms of styling and performance. But what if the Corvette continued down the front engined path, towards a luxury GT rather than a through and through sports car? This rendering by current General Motors designer Leyang Bai imagines what this luxury, hybrid GT Corvette could look like in 2030, called the C9/5. Put simply, it looks stunning.
Bai says this design doesn’t reflect any project General Motors is working on, and it’s a personal endeavor just for him. He refers to it as the C9/5 Neovette, and it takes inspiration from classic front engined Corvettes of yesteryear.
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Overall, the design certainly evokes the luxury grand touring vibe Bai was shooting for. He said it represents, “what the Corvette might look like if there was less focused on increasing raw power, and a bit more on general luxury and quality.” It’s a lot more flowing and elegant than the chiseled design Chevrolet Corvettes have had in recent generations, with soft lines and classical proportions.
The headlights are one of the coolest details. Bai wanted to capture the pop up headlights of the C2 through C5 Corvette, but wanted something that could still be compliant with crash regulations. The result is a “pop down,” where a body panel moves down when the high beams are on to expose another light. Other details captured from older Corvettes are the shape of the rear window, the front grille, the glass panel on the roof and the quad central exhausts.
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The most controversial design element is probably the rear light bar. It’s weird to see a Chevrolet Corvette without quad lights out back, even if this is a futuristic C9 Neovette. But on the whole, its a gorgeous design, and we applaud Bai for saying “what if.”
Take a look at Bai’s Instagram page by clicking these orange words, where he has more images of the C9/5 Corvette rendering.
