If you believe Car and Driver’s reporting, Chevrolet is about to follow Ford’s lead and turn the Corvette into its own sub-brand. The coupe we all know and love won’t be going anywhere, but it will be joined by an electric crossover and a four-door liftback sedan, and there will reportedly be an electric version of the C8.
(Editor’s Note: After this article was originally published, GM contacted us with a comment, saying, “These reports are speculative. We have nothing to confirm regarding future Corvette plans.”)
Car and Driver won’t reveal who their source is for this information, and it’s probably best that they don’t, but allegedly, they’ve seen the initial design proposals and can confirm that Chevrolet is going forward with plans to create an entire family of Corvette models. Corvette enthusiasts probably won’t be happy if this report is accurate, but Dominic Toretto probably would be. After all, nothing is more important than family.
C/D’s source claims the designs are “copies of nothing” and “encapsulated emotional purity,” which does lend some credence to the report because no one who doesn’t work for an automaker would ever describe cars that way. Even people who do work for automakers would probably cringe at “encapsulated emotional purity.” But since we haven’t spoken to their source or confirmed the accuracy of their information, we can’t say for sure that it’s accurate.
Their description of the tech going into the new family of Corvettes does sound appealing, though. It includes “battery packs with high energy density, superfast software, a patented cooling concept, staggered Lego-like topographic packaging, miniaturized componentry, ultra-efficient inverters, high-revving electric motors, an 800-volt electrical system that provides up to 350 kW of charging power, a two-speed transmission, brake-by-wire, multi-mode four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring.”
The source also added, “Corvette is not just a brand. It’s a constantly evolving system paired with a dramatically different user experience.” It went on to say that “the aim is not to beat Taycan and Cayenne at their own game but to create three American legends capable of breaking new ground by making the essence of Corvette scalable. To do so, that essence must at all times be in a state of progressive flux.”
So yeah, that’s probably happening. Keyboard warriors will probably be mad, but considering the success of the Ford Mustang Mach E, Chevrolet’s probably onto something if it really does plan to create a Corvette sub-brand. And it’s not like the C8 is going anywhere. There will just be a couple of extra vehicles wearing a Corvette badge. Surely, having more choices is better than having fewer choices, right?