Jump to content
Create New...
  • G. David Felt
    G. David Felt

    C9 Corvette-Inspired Concept Car Reveal

      Chevrolet keeps the imagination alive with the first of three Corvette-inspired concepts set to debut in 2025.

    General Motors Advanced Design UK Concept_Corvette_78 angle passenger side.jpgTwenty miles from Birmingham England in Royal Leaminton Spa, England GM has their global design studio, an advanced design studio that is tasked with creating special projects for the divisions of GM. In this case, the UK design studio was tasked with creating the first of three Corvette Concepts that will usher in the C9 next generation performance car. GM's global design network spans studios in Detroit, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Seoul. Prepare for a year of Excitement!!!!

    These concepts will be revealed throughout 2025 showing the inspiration that is to come to the future of performance driving. This Corvette Concept 1 is the start of driving ideation, innovation and collaboration across the GM global family. This first concept is to show the working production scale of Cadillac's electric vehicle business in Europe and to prepare the launch of Corvette sales across the UK and Mainland Europe in 2025.

    Michael Simcoe, Senior VP of Global Design had this to say:

    General Motors Advanced Design UK Concept_Corvette_doors open.jpg"Our advanced design team’s mandate extends well beyond creating production vehicles. While they collaborate within our global design network on production and concept vehicle programs, these teams are primarily tasked with imagining what mobility could look like five, 10, and even 20 years into the future and driving innovation for GM."

    Using a blank-page approach, the UK studio acknowledged the long history of the corvette nameplate and how it has been leveraged to introduce experimental cars, concepts and prototypes that push the boundaries of automotive design and engineering, and the new UK design concept is no exception. The production team knows that no production intention is behind the concepts, but that these working prototypes are to gauge customer reaction both positively and negatively to the style, design elements and potential production pieces.

    Simcoe stated: “As part of the Corvette creative study, we asked multiple studios to develop hypercar concepts, which we’ll see more of later this year. It was important that they all pay homage to Corvette’s historic DNA, but each studio brought their own unique creative interpretation to the project. That is exactly what our advanced design studio network is intended to do – push the envelope, challenge convention and imagine what could be.”

    Drawing inspiration from the aviation industry in stealth fighters, the UK team incorporated iconic design elements of the Corvette with a futuristic clean form plus muscular shape to what the Corvette could be.

    Pointed out as one of the most unusual and significant aspects of this concepts design is the inspired centerline focus of the front which is inspired by the Split Rear Window of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray. This feature is a singular vertical central spine that is also an acting structural element in the roof, providing a panoramic view of the road and surroundings.

    This design includes a two distinctive auto body design. The upper half capturing classic Corvette design elements. The lower half focused on the future of technology, including EV battery technology embedded into the structure and aerodynamic elements that are designed to channel air efficiently without the need for wings or spoilers.

    Concept technical specifications and assumptions:

    Body structure:

    • Additive manufacturing body structure
    • For low mass, manufacturing efficiency, part count reduction and driving agility
    • Halo roof structure with wind shield center spar

    Body panels:

    • Additive manufactured structure exposed for light weight authenticity
    • Part integration, panel count reduction

    General Motors Advanced Design Concept_Corvette_driver side high view 2.jpgClosures:

    • Full wrap around side glass to deliver Apex Vision
    • Powered wing door design

    Aero-Duality:

    • On-road efficiency and on-track performance in harmony
    • Fan assistance and active ducting to redirect air over and through the vehicle
    • On-road: flowing forms, functional intakes and vented surfaces
    • On road: air directed through vehicles to fill its wake, increasing efficiency and range
    • On track: like an aircraft wing, aero surfaces reconfigure, dorsal fins deploy and spoiler venting creates aero vectoring to enhance cornering performance
    • Sculpted underbody, lowered ride height and fan assistance delivers ground effect

    Chassis:

    • Racecar inspired, package efficient, pushrod suspension set-up

    Interface:

    • Windshield center spar augmented display

    • 1033mm tall / 2178mm width / 4669mm length (40.66 inches tall x 86 inches wide x 184 inches long)
    • 22inch front wheel / 23inch rear wheel
    • 127mm (5 inches) seat height – race car inspired

     

     

     

     

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Seems like they want to push the Corvette to hypercar territory which would really throw away the original mission of this car.  Although the C8 already sort of started to do that.  It seems like we are just a few years away from having almost no sports cars under $100k, because I think the Supra and Z4 are dying  soon, I can't imagine the Nissan Z will be around much longer with their issues, Mustang is on pace for its worst year ever.   

    But there are probably 50 supercar/hyper cars at $250k+ available.  The choices are endless among Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, McLaren, Rimec, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Gordon Murray T50, and all these other one off build in a shed super cars for a million dollars.

    • Agree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Subscribe to Cheers & Gears

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001 we've brought you real content and honest opinions, not AI-generated stuff with no feeling or opinions influenced by the manufacturers.

    Please consider subscribing. Subscriptions can be as little as $1.75 a month, and a paid subscription drops most ads.*
     

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Posts

    • Porsche, Mercedes and BMW are 3 of the most profitable car brands, I am pretty sure they know what they are doing. Cadillac sold 160,000 cars in 2024 (US sales) Audi sold 196,000.  Mercedes, Lexus and BMW are in the 300s.  I think Cadillac is on the right track with their EV's and they have to keep advancing the tech, going into Formula 1 is a right move.  Cadillac is doing a lot of correct steps, but there is still a long journey ahead to overtake BMW.  
    • Doesn't BMW sell more EV's than Cadillac and Genesis?    And once Mercedes redoes their EV's they'll be fine.  CLA this year, the AMG EV sedan is being shown this year, electric GLB and GLC I think next year, electric E-class in 2027 and so on.   And not that I am big plug in hybrid believer because I think it adds a lot of weight and complexity, but Mercedes makes 11 plug-in hybrids, Cadillac and Genesis don't have any.   And a lot of people think PHEV is where the market is going in the near future.
    • This is super cool. However, I don't think it will actually do very well here. Any of the customizations will eat into the little 150 mile range. The larger battery version, whenever that may come out, would be more ideal.  With that being said, this could be a perfect first car for a kid. Low power, two seats in a non-sporty vehicle, not a ton of range. Yeah, I'd buy a used one as a first vehicle for my kid(s). 
    • For being a large metro area, people are unusually nice at restaurants, stores, etc., and even strike up conversations with you in coffee places, but they become demonic on their big freeways.  I'm put into high defense mode when I drive there.  Add the big highways and multi-lane boulevards in big Florida cities to that.
    • My sister used to work out there at Conoco Phillips...did a consulting contract for a couple of years that had her flying between Phoenix, Bartlesville, OK (in and out of Tulsa airport) and Houston most every week.  Said the drivers on I-10 outside Houston were among the worst she'd seen.. 
  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search