SPY PICS: Mid-engined C8 Chevrolet Corvette races in

The ground-breaking new Chevrolet Corvette has broken cover in race trim for the first time, providing more vital clues to the street-legal version that’s expected to become officially available in Australia via Holden in 2020.

Caught testing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin following last weekend's IMSA WeatherTech Race at the track, the menacing racer you see here is expected to be called Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Chevrolet developed its previous-generation C7 Corvette street car and C7.R race car alongside each other, and the surprise appearance of the C8.R at Road America this week confirms it is being engineered in tandem with the C8 Corvette production model.

Some US reports suggest both versions of the revolutionary eighth-generation Corvette will be revealed simultaneously at the 2020 Detroit motor show in January and the C8 is believed to be “rear-drive V8 sports car” Holden has promised to release in Australia by 2020.

The C8 Corvette will be the first example in the iconic model’s 65-year history to be mid-engined and the first to be produced in left- and right-hand drive for global consumption, including in Australia.

News of the mid-engined C8, which will be sold alongside the front-engined C7, first emerged a number of years ago when GM engineers were spotted testing a mid-engined development mule based around a Holden Ute.

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette has been spied and speculated about almost constantly ever since, and the latest spy shots we published in May revealed its sleek, cab-forward shape for the first time.

Now however, the first appearance of the C8.R racer reveals the next Corvette’s low-slung profile in all its glory without heavy front and rear cladding (but still wearing decal camouflage), plus a range of new details about the showroom version.

Unlike the massive downforce-generating rear wing, rear diffuser and front splitter – not to mention the huge Michelin race rubber and oversized brake package -- key design details that should carry over to the road-going Corvette include big side air intakes behind the doors, triangular-shape front wheel-arch extractor vents and a front-facing air scoop at the rear of the roof.

What appear to be louvres on the motorsport version could be replaced by a glass engine cover for the street-legal model, allowing onlookers to see its powerplant just like a Ferrari.

The engine in question will differ between race version and road car, but the latter is expected to come with naturally aspirated and twin-turbo versions of GM’s new overhead-cam 4.2-litre V8, or an even newer biturbo 5.5-litre V8 or Chevy’s faithful 6.2-litre LT1 V8.

Either way, expect a new Tremec dual-clutch rear transaxle in both versions (so no manual), and the road-registerable model to ride on staggered wheels and tyres measuring 245/35 ZR19 at the front and 305/30 ZR20 at the rear.

Later on, a plug-in hybrid version with an electric motor powering the front axle could deliver all-wheel drive and a total output of up to 750kW (1000hp).

Chevrolet’s official Corvette Racing team currently only competes in the GTE class of the IMSA series, so the car pictured here is likely to be GTE-spec.

However, exactly how far and wide GM intends to take its first mid-engined Corvette racing remains to be seen, so the new C8 could end up taking on supercars like the Ford GT, Ferrari 488, Lamborghini Huracan, Porsche GT3 and Audi R8 on both the road and track.

The best news is that while the C8 road car will be positioned above a lightly reworked version of the existing C7 in the US, the Mk8 Corvette we’ll see will dramatically undercut all of those supercars – although it will still cost well over $200,000 in Australia.