Motortrend.com provided the digital scoop this week on the new generation and look of
the coming Corvette C8, which is scheduled to debut this summer. All of us on
deck here at sales and service at Jim Butler have been paying close attention to the hype around
the new model, and the reveal of the new logo was covered in detail here. There was an Instagram post on our radar two days
ago from Chevy Performance that excitedly claimed, “A #Corvette this different
deserves a symbol all its own”, and proudly brandished the new art.
The symbol hasn't
changed that dramatically, it is just a simplified version of the one we have
been familiar with for years. There is more of a V-shaped gap between the two
flags, and there is no longer line under the “French Fleur-de-lis”. The logo
has changed quite a bit since the model's introduction in 1953, but one element
that has always been the same has been the two flags. Over the years, the
checkered and red flag switched positions, and the link we just shared does a
good job of showing the logo's constant evolution.
The
8th-generation Corvette is scheduled to make its first appearance July 18.
Yesterday, GM announced that it was going to add a second shift at the Bowling
Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky to support the production of this exhilarating
and awesome machine. This motion will create more than 400 hourly jobs at the
plant, increasing the plant's employment healthily to more than 1,300 people.
Within this new ABC news feature, Dan Pund from Car and
Driver excitedly claims that “A mid-engined Corvette has been like a
mythical creature”. During April, Corvette's chief engineer Tadge Juechter was
photographed driving a very heavily-camouflaged C8 on the city streets of New York,
as nationwide excitement continued to build.
Five years ago,
Motor Trend's senior features editor Jonny Liebermann told ABC News that “to be
truly world class you have to be mid-engine”, when he initially broke the story
that a mid-engined Corvette would surely be in production. Consistently over
time, the only cars to ever beat the 755 horsepower ZR1, the most powerful and
fastest Corvette ever built, were its mid-engine counterparts. Hagarty is the
world's largest collector car insurance and valuation company, and their valued
expert Jonathan Klinger claims that the Corvette is the most collected vehicle
in North America, followed by the Ford Mustang.
Although some
have not expressed grave interest in the mid-engined model, we know it's the
most intelligent move in the long run. Sales and marketing teams did not
embrace the idea right away, since for years the front-engined model was the
norm. The mass of the car becomes more central, and handling is drastically
heightened by mid-engine incorporation. The community that embraces the 'Vetta
is a very loyal and enthusiastic one, and this loyalty is sure to keep the
spirit and excitement level on tracks all around the world at fever pitch after
this monumental release!