That’s the way it should be, more race-car like. Straight line performance isn’t everything. If the Corvette can now focus on losing some fat, then it’s all for the better assuming 0-100 is still the same.

Lighter and smaller is better for a sports car anyway. If it were mid-engined, lighter and smaller, I will definitely consider buying one. I’m thinking something along the lines of the Noble M400 – light, mid-engine, goes like hell with less horsepower.

If it turns into an Al Gore loving machine like the Tesla though, I’ll keep my old unenvironmentally friendly 450hp ‘02 Z06 that gets 32 mpg on the highway consistently.

Veda,
Do you have any idea what you’re saying. The Corvette is one of the best HANDLING cars at any price range. I think you may be confusing the corvette with the mustang.

Let it be known though, that the current Corvette is currently lighter than the Porsche 911 across almost the entire lineup (i.e. the base C6 is lighter than a 911 Carrera, the Z06 is lighter than the 911 Turbo, etc.). It’s also lighter than the regular F430 and all Lamborghini’s except for one. I would hardly call the current Corvette overweight, on the contrary it is light weight for a car with supercar performance.

lyndon_h: Yes I do. I never said it’s fat compared to its competitors. It doesn’t matter how light it is now or whether it’s the best handling car ever made. Less weight means better handling, period. I mentioned the straight line because most people assume the Corvette to be your typical american muscle car. To me it’s already the perfect supercar with its only drawbacks being old styling and crappy interior.

Long as it remains the performance bargain of the century, this is great news.
Hell yeah, add in the lightness. Somebody call Lotus.

Less weight is good, less power is not. Granted, an increased power-to-weight ratio lessens the need for sheer muscle, but this is the *Corvette* we’re talking about, not some hopped-up Civic. Fuel economy? Carbon footprint? Green?

Why don’t they just install pedals?!

Could GM complain about CAFE any more? C’mon, Corvette is such a small percentage of their North American lineup.

I’ve had enough of their bitching.

i like the idea of a smaller one with the same power to weight ratio. it is a good formula and will even drastically improve the handling even more. the corvette has a huge cargo area compared to the cars it competes with so there is definately an area that can be shrunk by huge amount.

I’m with CTS, I hope they forget about the unspoken “fits two golf bags” mandate they have had since C5 came out, which has rendered it’s back-end a little bloated

Fletch: exactly. Has there been a day lately without GM whining about CAFE? Although I don’t think a less bulbous Vette is an entirely bad thing. Still, if CAFE were not a concern, I highly doubt the next gen would have have grown bigger anyway.

Actually I could fit 5 golf bags in the trunk of my ‘02 Z06. I mine’s not even a hatchback like the new Z06 is, which can carry even more. Can only carry 2 people, but 5 golf bags.

‘Fairlight’, that’s why they will ADAPT or suffer.

LP640, ok I won’t even waste me time… but this doesn’t mean that the Corvette is devolving because it’s possibly going to be slightly less powered and shed some weight. Why do Ferraris and Lamborghinis have to have monstrosities of engines to keep making their cars faster? Because under all those fancy gadgets they weigh a ton like your mom. So the ? is who is really devolving?

It all comes down to power to weight ratio and the lighter the car the better it will handle and the faster it will be. Just as long as they don’t underpower the Corvette it should be ok, and GM isn’t that stupid…

Although I do wonder what this news has to do with the possibility of that mid-engine corvette, just the thought of hearing those words in the same sentence excites me.

“waste my time” Sorry. Typo.

Regarding this story, the Dodge Hemi story below, etc., I’m starting to think that the big 2 1/2 are using the CAFE ratings to their own advantage to move metal. As in, “get ‘em while we still make ‘em, they may not be around any more in a few years! I say that as I look across the street at the Dodge dealership with a line of about 20 Rams and 300’s sitting there.

Lighter weight will be a good thing, as long as they don’t take away one of the Corvette’s strongest suits vs. it’s competitors…storage space. I for one do play a lot of golf, and if I were in the market for another sports car, the Vette would be at the top of my list for that very reason. That, and you can take a lady friend on a week long trip to Napa as well. While my SLK will perform these tasks quite well, you can’t put the %&(#*## top down!! I think if they keep the current layout, they could reduce weight by using alternate materials, but guess what?, that’s gonna cost ya. Just look at the ZR1…it didn’t cost $30,000 to add 100 hp, any 16 yr old with a Jegg’s catalog could do that for $3000…most of that is the “exotic” materials to save weight…

Oh, and don’t forget that GM is working on an 8sp Auto, and will likely license a DSG too. That will also help mileage, and the Vette is already one of the most efficient sports cars out there. Hell, it gets about ths same mileage as a Miata for chrissake!

‘Fairlight’, that’s why they will ADAPT or suffer.
Comment by Impulsive

You can’t ADAPT a 5500lb work truck to get 35mpg and still be a useful vehicle. Not with what’s out there today. Maybe a hybrid assisted direct-injected HCCI small-block could do it, but is there enough time for that to exist? And how much would that cost. Most trucks sell for ~$20k with a 5.3L as work trucks.

Like a Mini Vette….. hmmm i dont see this going over well with enthusiasts…..

If the Corvette is so great like some people above say…

Why do used Corvettes fill the newspaper ads for sale ?

Why does the price drop like a rock when you drive it off the dealership lot ??

Why does owning one not get you that “front space parking” at the nightclub or restaurant ????

Mmm ok LP640, Right well, the ZR1 will take care of them. The ZO6 already does.

If I had so much money that I could wipe my ass with $100 bills, of course I’d buy a Ferrari or Lamborghini, or a Veyron for that matter. They are truly beautiful and remarkable pieces of machinery. I’d still spend 100k for a ZR1 or a Ford GT and have those whoop the above mentioned except for the Veyron and still have enough to buy myself a hell of a lot more $$ remaining, because seeing the look on the face of a driver of a Ferrari or Lamborghini after they got their ass handed to them by an inferior vehicle would be priceless to me.

Man, if the 30 mpg Vette needs to downsize its engine, what are the imports going to do? They already have smaller engines AND worse gas mileage. I guess 1.8 liter BMW and Benz sports cars are next…

Get Real,

Used Corvettes fill the newspaper ads for sale because they sell so frieking many to begin with that they are affordable to obtain.

Every car’s price drops the minute you drop it off the lot. Some more than other’s it’s still just a Chevy it’s not a Ferrari or Lamborghini or something exotic and rare.

And why does the Corvette not get you the front parking space, because most Corvette driver’s don’t care to take it to a night club, they do the thing that their car is actually known for… Driving.

I have a question for you. Why is it that the ZO6 is in such high demand in European countries like Germany that GM can’t export them fast enough??? What??

Get Real – Get a clue!

“If the Corvette is so great like some people above say…

Why do used Corvettes fill the newspaper ads for sale ?”

For the same reason used Porsches fill the newspaper ads for sale. There were quite a few of them built, and there’s a ready market for them.

Your comment is idiotic.

“Why does the price drop like a rock when you drive it off the dealership lot ??”

Who said it drops like a rock? Corvette actually has one of the highest resale values of ANY car sold in North America.

READ: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0711/gallery.2007_best_resale_value_top_10/index.html

Facts hurt, don’t they?

“Why does owning one not get you that “front space parking” at the nightclub or restaurant ????”

Front space valet parking depends on your willingness to depart with a Jackson and donate it to the valet – nothing more. Everyone knows that. Do you live in a cave or something? Maybe you should get out more.

Just lose the weigth and keep the same engine.. Performance will go up by a crazy amount, and it will be a whole lot more efficient, too.

But if it’s really so easy to lose 400 pounds, why haven’t they done it already?

I think that after seeing what some of these newer cars can do with a faster engine, that is an engine that revs higher or is basically a detuned racing engine, sizing back down to C3 dimensions (the C4, C5, and C6 are downright huge compared to most sports cars in its performance class), lowering the weight and using a smaller, not too much less powerful – but faster – engine could yield a CORVETTE for the ages.

Yeah, i really don’t understand why the corvette has to be tampered with in order to help them meet CAFE standards. They act like it’s a mass production vehicle. Besides, for being sports cars, they’re actually pretty fuel efficient. I believe to ZR1 will be the only one subject to the gas guzzler tax (base vette gets about 26mpg highway)… I think what the real situation is is they can’t improve on this design any further. Corvettes are at the top of their performance potential under the current platform. I couldn’t see them going much faster, or handling any better. So I guess in order for them to have a different product in the future they need to make CAFE seem like to problem.

Make it light, make it fast!

the corvette is an easy formula (two seater + V8 + Front Engine + Rear Wheel Drive) = Corvette
the 80s showed that sometimes crap hits the fan but in the long term it will get better if they supercharge an aluminum block 5.3 , 5.7 6.2 liter it would stll be a good car it may cost more and be a more limited production car so it won’t effect cafe numbers

Facts ????

I gave you the facts, sorry you hate the facts.

I’m also sorry that Ferrari and Porche had the Corvette as competition in the 60’s, then GM let it get fatter and fatter for balding middle class men with big beer belly’s to buy.

Now they’re trying to save it but CAFE is here.

Why does GM let good brands whither then spend billions trying to bring it back ?

Get Real, those weren’t facts you gave, but you were given factual information by Fairlight Racing and ZO6ified to back it up instead. Also why don’t you look it up because I can give you the facts the Corvette wasn’t the only car to get fatter. So did the Ferraris and Porsche’s and Lamborghinis and all of them still weigh more than the Corvette today so what are you getting at exactly?

sucks but whatever you got to do.

I think it is a great direction. Vette is already 7/8 of what it used to be and it is not any less of a sports car. I think it looks better and hopefully drives better as well.

I wonder how the volt will impact fleet averages. Hopefully this will offset enough MPGs to give GM a little wiggle room. I guess it all depends on how they measure this hybrids milage. For short trips it shouldn’t have to use any gas at all.

Instead of less power, how about more RPMs? Give the next Corvette a twin-turbo, Boxer-10 engine that’ll rev to 12K RPM. Heritage won’t let it have less cylinders, so a V6 is out. A flat 10 would have less reciprocating mass per cylinder, letting it rev much higher that the current 7 liter V8’s, and well matched turbos would let it have decent low-end and mid-range performance. Add an 8spd DSG, an aluminum chassis with carbon panels, and keep it to about $45K.

global-lightning,

The engine alone, I think Porsche or Renault used to use such an engine in the 1960s or 1970s in formula racing. It was quite unique. A Flat-block, “H”-block, or Boxer has great power for the weight but has problems with cooling. Most American auto racing factors in endurance and cooling problems factor heavily into that. The needed cooling system would negate any weight savings by using such an engine.

But it still bares looking into though I don’t think GM would foot the bill for such an engine or they might have tried something like that ages ago. Flat-fours for the Fiero maybe.

Anyway, I was thinking a Tri-rotor engine, like the Aero-Vette Concept back in the 1970s. But the question of F/econ still plagues that engine, but I think the use of Cam-less technology will help fix that by giving more control over fuel usage as well as emissions. But I would be more expectant that FORD would use such an engine co-developed with MAZDA.

There is also the possibility that the C7 could have electric-hybrid boost, meant for acceleration. to keep weight down Capacitors and not batteries would be used. The motor might also be integrated into the drive shaft to keep it as unobtrusive as possible. This would get around the Federal ban on Launch assist systems (That thingie that helps the GT-R shave upwards of a second off it’s 0-60 time and will not be available on US-spec GT-Rs) and be useful more frequently.

But to be realistic the C7 will likely start, even if the Dollar gets back to mid 1990’s levels of exchange, will still start at around $50K. A Z06-model would likely cost $70K. A possible ZR-1 would easily cap $110K or more. The CORVETTE is quickly being priced out of the range of most people, but as a piece of Sport equipment is still an awesome deal.

GM might want to develop a less expensive sports car or more effective Kappa cars. Cut the weight down to around 2600 lbs and use smaller engines, V6s only for special models. Put as much time into the next Kappa cars as the CORVETTE, because GM will want to make racing potential as accessible as possible to draw customers and future CORVETTE buyers.

How about a new Fiero as well. Something priced between the Kappas and the CORVETTE. Rear-mid V6 or small V8 engine, Styling that harks back to the Fiero GT and some of the VETTE’s tech in a less expensive but still very capable package. Pontiac would have it’s performance flagship back and the Vette would have a partner racing in GT2 giving the 911 and/or Caymen grief.

Corvette is already one of the lightest cars, making it less heavy will cost more money than to increase power, wouldn’t that make car more expensive. Corvette = Lotus. I didn’t know CAFE rules are causing such changes.

They shouldn’t f*ck around with the Corvette’s winning formula. Lighter weight is almost always a good thing, but not at the expense of a weaker motor. Also, I thought low-volume cars like the Corvette didn’t have an impact with CAFE ratings?

A Vette with all the power of an Acura TL
That sounds……sweet!
DrFill

Easy, less heavy by pulling all the junk/crap options out of it, GM has talked about it but never built it.

Too much money to make on options for fat lazy people instead of building a lightweight car.

“We need balsa floors to make up for the weight of the power seats and power windows and air-conditioning and the stereo speakers and etc etc etc.”

‘Frylock’, do you really think 5500lb work trucks will have to get to 35mpg? Not to worry … I highly doubt it.

I’ll take a Nissan GT-R or a Ford Mustang Super Snake at 734 HP and wipe the floor with the Vette

B00 CAFE!