Lucas Bell 
A new video courtesy of IMSA’s Twitter features the upcoming Chevrolet Corvette C8.R taking a complete lap around the famed Road Atlanta road course. While the car doesn’t seem to be pushing too hard on around the track, we now get a taste of what the C8.R is going to sound like when its out racing. The C8.R will make its competition debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January, as it competes in the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
In the middle of the C8.R now sits a 5.5L DOHC V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft said to make 500 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque, mated to an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox. Considering the fact that the C8.R is now a mid-engined racer, it’s not too surprising that it has adopted an engine like the ones found inside some of its class rivals; the Ferraris in particular. Give a listen just below.
The fact that Chevrolet is going racing with this engine means that a road-going variant of the Corvette – America’s best selling sports car – will need to get a similar powertrain down the line, according to FIA regulations. We’ve reported for some time now that we expect the upcoming C8 Corvette Z06 supercar to carry a naturally aspirated flat-plane V8, likely based from this engine.
In a change from the Corvette Racing style from last generation, the two factory backed cars will be wearing different liveries. One of the cars will be painted in the traditional yellow featuring silver accents, and the other as seen in the video is mostly silver with yellow accents. The Corvette C8.R is a good looking race car, and it makes an all new sound for a Corvette of any variety.
The new flat-planer’s wail hasn’t quite made us forget about the American thunder that came out of the rear of the Corvette C7.R, but it does have us excited for what’s to come for Corvette Racing.
