Power has corrupted the new Corvette. Hagerty reports that development of the mid-engine coupe has been delayed in part because its aluminum frame is warping so much under acceleration that it's busting the glass engine cover. It’s been rumored that the all-new car will deliver as much as 1,000 hp in a top version, courtesy of a twin-turbocharged V8 hybrid powertrain. A base Stingray model could feature a 500 hp 6.2-liter V8 and cost as little as $60,000, according to sources who spoke with Hagerty. READ MORE FROM HAGERTY Prices for the current Corvette start at $56,995 and run up to $125,090 for the ZR1. The report also corroborates an earlier one from GM Authority that said the launch of the car is being held up because its electrical architecture needs to be upgraded to new technology being implemented across the automaker’s lineup. The automaker appears to be putting the finishing touches on the super-secret car, however, as GM President Mark Reuss was videotaped riding around in a prototype on public roads in Arizona last week. GM PRESIDENT MARK REUSS SPOTTED IN SECRET CORVETTE PROTOTYPE<doc-sep>Sports car fans were ready to see Chevrolet pull the sheet off the mid-engine 2020 C8 Corvette at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past January, but it never happened. Numerous rumors suggested the car had been delayed and would debut at its own standalone event sometime this year. Last Friday, Hagerty reported that it has dug up three reasons why the hotly anticipated mid-engine Corvette hasn't surfaced yet. They all point to the fact that Chevy's supercar killer simply isn't ready for prime time yet. Reason number one is a rumor we've heard before. According to sources, the mid-engine Corvette isn't playing nice with a new electrical architecture. The report said every GM vehicle is moving to the new architecture to support 100 or more computer modules communicating with a CAN bus, or computer area network. Apparently, engineers have had many issues sorting out the bugs in the mid-engine Corvette and other unnamed models. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette (C8) spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien Secondly, sources shared with Hagery that the aluminum spaceframe was prone to distortion under extreme duress. Apparently, one of the mid-engine C8 Corvette's engines was powerful enough to twist the rear of the car so much that it broke the glass hatch that covers the engine planted in the middle. The incident reportedly happened with a twin-turbocharged V-8 that made 900 to 1,000 horsepower. Engineers are likely working to beef up the spaceframe to ensure it's strong enough to withstand the forces exerted by all of the engines planned for the car. 2020 Chevrolet Corvette (C8) spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien The final reason, per the website, is somewhat vague. Sources shared that there's some sort of internal argument between designers and engineers, but it's unclear what it's about. Of course, designers work hard to make the Corvette a good-looking machine, while engineers do their best to push the performance envelope. What the two sides can't agree on is unknown, but it could be anything from an ergonomic issue inside the car or even an exterior component. That leads to the biggest question: when will we see the car? Hagerty pegs the National Corvette Museum's 25th birthday celebration, which takes place in August, as a good guess. That falls in line with previous reports that the car would debut this summer.<doc-sep>Several alleged reveal dates for the eighth-generation "C8" Chevrolet Corvette have come and gone, and a new report claims that this has been due to design problems delaying the new model's launch. These complications have apparently been so major, in fact, they're causing damage to the car's frame and glass engine cover due to too much power for the chassis. Rumors claimed that the C8 was scheduled for launch at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in January, then the Geneva Motor Show in March, both of which have come to pass without a new Corvette. Citing "well-placed sources," Hagerty alleges that General Motors missed these deadlines due to shortcomings with a new standardized, global GM electrical system, one in which engineers are reportedly still refining. This system is said to incorporate more than 100 interlinked computers on its Computer Area Network (CAN) bus. Hagerty's report corroborates rumors from December that alleged the C8 would be delayed six months due to electrical gremlins. Problems are allegedly not limited to those digital, but also those mechanical. Prototypes fitted with twin-turbo V8s producing between 900 and 1,000 horsepower have reportedly suffered from structural distortion so severe that the engine compartment's glass hatch was breaking. These are in line with previous rumors which claimed that the C8 will use a twin-turbo V8 to achieve hypercar-like performance, with acceleration so "frightening" that GM has supposedly consulted with lawyers about the potential risk of selling something so fast. One last nondescript problem remained, described only as a butting of heads between the design and engineering teams, though details were unspecified. With multiple sources now reporting similar reasons for why we have yet to see the C8 Corvette, the other claims made in each of these rumors are looking more credible, especially the one that outlined the Corvette becoming a standalone brand, similar to how Volkswagen spun off the Jetta name into its own brand in China. Maybe GM thinks the same strategy will work on sports car-buying Americans.<doc-sep>
Mar 13, 2019, 3:42am ET 2021 Chevrolet Corvette delayed again? Three issues -- one serious -- are delaying it. The mid-engined, eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette is the worst-kept secret in Detroit, but there is one piece of its puzzle that continues to escape us: its official introduction date. We expected to see it in the metal during the 2019 Detroit auto show, but it was allegedly delayed by an unspecified electrical problem. Its unveiling has been pushed back yet again, according to a recent report. Citing "well-placed sources," Hagerty reported that Chevrolet engineers still haven't eliminated all of the electrical issues that originally delayed the model. They're due to an all-new electrical architecture that other General Motors models will also use. The second, more serious issue is that high-performance variants of the car are too powerful for their own good. Engineers dropped a twin-turbocharged V8 engine tuned to deliver between 900 and 1,000 horsepower into a prototype, and watched in horror as it twisted the aluminum spaceframe, fracturing the glass hatch that covers the engine. Dialing down the power isn't an option, so Chevrolet needs to make the eighth-generation Corvette stronger. Finally, the anonymous sources explained designers and test drivers don't agree on one key aspect of the car, but they couldn't provide more information. "It could be a visibility issue, some ergonomic shortcoming, or a cockpit design problem," Hagerty wrote. The publication believes Chevrolet is now planning to introduce the eighth-generation Corvette during the Corvette Museum's 25th anniversary celebrations in late August. Production will begin towards the end of 2019, and the first examples will reach showrooms in early 2020. Of course, none of this is official; Chevrolet hasn't even acknowledged the car's existence, let alone talked about issues reportedly plaguing it and the delays they're apparently causing.