New Chevrolet Corvette to be revealed in July

General Motors has confirmed its eighth-generation, 2020 Chevrolet Corvette will finally be unveiled to the world on July 18.

After years of spy photos, executive innuendo and endless speculation, Chevrolet’s hero car will be shown to all from a function in the US. General Motors’ official confirmation today was accompanied by images of a camouflaged test mule driving around New York City which appears to confirm reports the eighth-generation model will indeed be mid-engined.

The bent-eight will make about 370kW, the magazine speculates, and will be eventually joined by a 5.5-litre flat-plane V8 Z06, a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 ZR1 and a flagship Zora model that will combine the ZR1’s engine with an electric motor to produce in excess of 740kW of power.

That kind of power suggests Chevrolet has Ferrari and McLaren firmly in its cross-hairs for the eighth Corvette installment. And like those marques, the newcomer will be rid of a manual option, relying solely on a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

What remains unknown is the Corvette’s potential for Australian showrooms. Holden executives have long promoted a mystery “rear-drive, V8 sports car” following the loss of the locally-built Holden Commodore.

Expectations of a mid-engined Corvette sent the rumour mill into overdrive three years ago when a heavily camouflaged Holden Ute was caught cutting laps of GM’s top-secret Milford proving ground in the US.

Since then there have been leaked CAD drawings of the car’s rear subframe, engine and suspension system, along with continuous reports around the car’s mid-engined underpinningsand a host of renderings including these by Andrei Avarvarii/Hagerty.

The C8 Corvette has healthy Australian input too, as it has been penned and overseen by former Holden design chief, ex-pat Mike Simcoe, who heads GM International design.

We already know the Chevrolet Camaro is available in Australia courtesy of Walkinshaw’s Melbourne conversion process. Will the lofty promise of a Corvette finally come to fruition?

Speculation is that production will begin later this year in preparation for a launch to the US public in early 2020.

All (or at least some) will be revealed on July 18.