Chevrolet announces the next generation Corvette will debut 07.18.19. A camouflaged next generation Corvette travels down 7th Avenue near Times Square Thursday, April 11, 2019 in New York, New York.
Well, the long-awaited C8 Corvette mid-engine sports car is finally official. For a few months, it looked like the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette was going to be revealed at the 2019 New York Auto Show. As we know, that didn’t happen. But there was some big news about the C8 that did go down in the Big Apple.
With camera crews on hand ready to document the big announcement, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter drove slowly through Times Square in a camouflaged C8 Corvette while General Motors CEO Mary Barra rode shotgun. They arrived at the Footsteps to the Future gala staged by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in a camouflaged C8 (more on that later).
Publicized on the side of the C8 was July 18th, 2019, which is to be the official launch date. GM did not reveal the location of the July 18 removal of the C8 camouflage.
The new C8 Corvette will almost unquestionably be the most important automotive news for 2019, and likely for the last 20+ years.
A mid-engined version of Chevrolet’s sports car was talked about all the way back in the mid-1960s. (Zora Arkus-Duntov, the father of the Corvette, was also the man who first conceived the Corvette’s mid-engine position back in the ’60s. Arkus-Duntov died in 1996, so he’ll never know the fruition of his decades-old vision.) A few prototypes were appearing through the years since then as we have covered in previous issues. The mid-engine Corvette has literally been decades in the making. No doubt there has been all kinds of stress at GM headquarters to make sure the car lives up to expectation.
We have seen hundreds of spy photos, read about uncovered patent applications for possible Corvette technology. We drooled over many fan renderings of what was thought to be the C8 mid-engine. There have been tons of rumors for years about the C8 mid-engine, one of which is that it would be called a “Zora”. There were small Zora Arkus-Duntov Stickers on the mirrors and door handles of the camouflaged Corvette. I can’t help but wonder if the final Corvette will have special badging to pay homage to Zora.
We have lots to learn yet about the next generation Corvette. Chevy has already launched a landing page for the C8. It probably won’t be too long after the C8’s debut on July 18 that GM will start taking orders. At what price? That is yet to be told also!
We did learn one thing. The C7 front engine Corvette is coming to an end. There won’t be a C7 and C8 being built/offered at the same time.
We told you we would explain to you more about why Tadge Juechter and General Motors CEO Mary Barra were at the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. While there Mary Barra addressed the gathering to announce the final production seventh-gen Corvette and that it will be auctioned with all proceeds being donated to the foundation to help veterans and first responders. While there, Barra also announced the next generation Corvette will be unveiled July 18.
“GM, GMC, and Chevrolet support the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to injured and fallen military members, first responders and their families,” said Barra. “The sale of this iconic Corvette will help the foundation continue its good work and pave the way for the Next Generation Corvette that we will introduce on July 18.”
The final seventh-gen Corvette — a black 2019 Z06 model — will be auctioned at the Barrett-Jackson Northeast sale in Connecticut June 28. Registration information is available at www.barrett-jackson.com.
Every dollar of the winning bid will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named for New York City firefighter Stephen Siller, who died during the Sept. 11 attacks.
The foundation builds mortgage-free, accessible smart homes for the most catastrophically injured service members and helps pay off the mortgages for families of first responders killed in the line of duty. More information is available at www.tunnel2towers.org.
“The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation thanks GM, GMC and Chevrolet for supporting the brave men and women of our armed forces and our first responders,” said Frank Siller, chairman, and CEO. “This generous gift will help us provide more injured veterans with the independence they deserve.”
For the past five years, GMC has supported the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation as its national foundation of choice. In that time, it has helped the foundation raise more than $10 million. That includes $2.2 million raised last year, with $925,000 of it coming from the auction of the first production 2019 Corvette ZR1. It was purchased by Chevrolet dealer and NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick at the 2018 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale sale.
Other money has come from employee donations and events across the country such as 5K Tunnel to Towers races and other activities sponsored by GMC dealers.
GM is committed to helping those who have given so much for their country. GM’s current and retired workforce includes 60,000 veterans.
We have learned that GM has trademarked “ZORA” for use as a car name in several multiple countries. Speculation is that the maximum performance C8 will be named after him.