GM's Latest Corvette Concept Forgot the Engine, Kept the Awesome
Image Credit: GM.
General Motors, in a fit of what I can only describe as sun-drenched Californian inspiration, has decided to show us the future. And if you're a card-carrying member of the V8 fan club, you might want to sit down. They've pulled the cover off a new Corvette concept, and it appears to have misplaced its engine. All eight cylinders. Gone.
Instead, under the impossibly low, wide, and ridiculously wild bodywork, hides a battery. Yup, the next chapter for America's sports car, at least according to the wizards at GM's Pasadena Advanced Design studio, is electric. This concept, unofficially-but-actually-badged as the "C10," isn't a subtle evolution. It's a complete teardown of the Corvette rulebook.
Image Credit: GM.
But before you start writing angry letters, let's clear the air. This is a concept. A design study. A "what if" doodle brought to life. GM's own head of Corvette engineering recently called a fully electric 'Vette "science fiction." And this car actually does look like it flew straight off the set of a sci-fi blockbuster, so I suppose he's not wrong. It's the second of three wild Corvette ideas we're being shown this year, and it's meant to let the designers run free. And run free they did.
Never mind looking like a rival to a Porsche 911. This thing has its sights set on spaceships from Koenigsegg and Rimac. It's got the classic mid-engine proportions we've just gotten used to with the C8, but turned up to eleven and a half. The bodywork isn't just there to look pretty; it's an aerodynamic weapon. It's more hole than car, with massive channels carved into its flanks to bully the air into submission and shove it through a rear diffuser that could double as a park bench.
Image Credit: GM.
The whole car measures a staggering 86 inches wide. For some much needed perspective, that's wider than a Hummer H2. Good luck with that at the drive-thru. It's also incredibly low, at just 41.4 inches tall, and stretches 182.5 inches long. It's a predator crouched on its enormous wheels - 21 inches at the front and 22 inches at the back. It has the stance of something that doesn't just want to beat you in a race - it wants to steal your lunch money afterward.
But the real party trick, the feature that will have jaws on the floor, is the canopy. The entire top of the car, windscreen and all, is a single piece that hinges forward like a fighter jet's cockpit. Why? Because, as design director Brian Smith puts it, it transforms the car. With the canopy on, it's a "slick sports car." With it off, it's a "lightweight, open-air track car." I call it the ultimate way to make an entrance. Pulling up to the country club and having your roof lift off is a power move nobody can ignore.
Image Credit: GM.
Climb inside (very carefully), and you're in a minimalist, track-focused cockpit. There's no big, flashy infotainment screen dominating the dash. Instead, you get a slim digital instrument cluster, an augmented-reality head-up display that projects info onto the windscreen, and - oh dear - a yoke-style steering wheel. And just in case that slim screen wasn't enough, there's another one mounted right on the yoke. It's all very futuristic, and probably a bit distracting when you're trying to navigate a hairpin turn.
GM was clever with the silent heart of this beast. Instead of a flat skateboard battery that raises the floor, they've imagined a T-shaped prismatic battery pack. This allows the carbon fiber tub to accommodate incredibly low-slung seats. You're sitting practically on the asphalt, right where you should be in a hypercar. It's a brilliant solution that keeps the center of gravity subterranean while also creating those glorious air channels through the chassis.
Image Credit: GM.
When can you buy one and terrify your neighbors? You can't. This C10 is pure fantasy for now, a design exercise to push the boundaries and get us all talking. It's a glimpse into a potential C10, which probably won't arrive until well into the 2030s. The real C9 is still rumored for 2029, so we have plenty of time to get used to the idea.
Still, what a magnificent piece of science fiction it is. It's proof that even without the throaty roar of a V8, a Corvette can still be a heart-stopping, dramatic, and desirable machine. It's a future where the thunder might be silent, but the lightning strike is more dazzling than ever. And if this is what happens when you let designers in Southern California dream, I say give them a bigger budget.
