Radical New Corvette Renews Interest In American Cars In Japan
Having just captured the North American Car of the Year gong, the revolutionary all-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C8), the first-ever Vette to get a mid-engined layout and right-hand drive, has just been unveiled in Japan for the first time. Given the fact that this reveal at the Tokyo Auto Salon was the first time that this radical new Vette has been shown anywhere in Asia, the reception was nothing short of rapturous.
At the world’s third largest customizing show, after SEMA and Germany’s Essen Motor Show, the Tokyo Auto Salon, staged inside the massive Makuhari Messe site became the location for GM Japan to unveil their biggest, most high profile launch in a decade.
Sitting on the stand in Zeus Bronze Metallic with a light tan-colored leather interior, GM Japan’s president Tadashi Wakamatsu explained to the thousands of gathered press and onlookers that the Japanese market would get a US-spec “2LT” and the high performance “3LT” and that deliveries would start in early 2021.Today In: Lifestyle
Asking several of the assembled media and Vette fans in the audience about their interest in the new coupe, this writer was not surprised to learn that all interviewees found the revolutionary new mid-engined layout, in comparison to the outgoing front-engined setup employed through seven generations of Corvette since the first 1953 model, especially appealing.
All pundits also agreed that the recently launched and highly rated movie “Ford v Ferrari” had heightened their desire to see the all-new Vette.
“Sure the Vette is not a Ford, but its a reasonably-priced mid-engined American muscle car and that is more than worthy of attention,” said one Vette fan. In a country where American cars account for less than 2 percent of the market, it is rare to hear car buyers speaking in such glowing terms of American cars.
Several other audience members said that they found the all-new mid-engined layout and right-hand-drive feature “extremely appealing.” Even though the starting price in Japan will hover around $100,000, in contrast to the surprisingly low $60,000 entry level sticker price in the U.S., dozens of Japanese onlookers expressed great interest in an American-made supercar that undercuts many of its European rivals like Lamborghini, McLaren and many Ferraris by less than half.
Even at that $100,000 entry level price in Japan, one sports car fan said, “I think Chevrolet have pretty much pulled a rabbit out of a hat here. Apart from the near 500 hp V8, which has switched from front-engined to mid-engined, it gets lightweight hi-tech aluminum construction, its composite and it has carbon fiber in it. And I love that sleek supercar silhouette.”
That is all true. But one of the main ways that parent company GM was able to keep the new Corvette’s starting price under $60,000 back home is to leverage the company’s economies of scale, with specific reference to the brand’s new Global B electrical platform. At last November’s L.A. Auto Show, I listened as Corvette chief engineer Tange Juechter explained how this new platform would provide the wiring, computers and structure for active safety systems, infotainment systems and even the groundwork for future electric cars.
GM Japan’s Wakamatsu couldn’t hide his joy as he unveiled the new Vette by saying, “We have a car here that gets inspiration from both an F35 jet fighter and and F1 race car. That great design, the all-new mid-engined V8 power, 0-60mph in 3 seconds and an appealing price tag is generating tremendous buzz in Japan.” And that will no doubt lead to unprecedented Vette sales in Japan. Time will tell.
Source: Peter Lyon for Forbes
Exclusive! C8.R Corvette 5.5L DOHC V-8 Pics and How the Flat-Plane Crank Alters Its Iconic Sound
There’s A New Engine In The C8.R Corvette, And It Sounds Nothing Like Its Predecessor.
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and although that’s true, it can also be in the ear of the listener.
Since the Corvette first hit the streets back in the 1950s, it was imbued with the beautiful and nearly magical sound of V-8 performance. It was a deep, bass-filled rumble that just oozed a feeling of power. Over the years, the sound emanating from Corvettes, both on the street and at the track, had a distinctive note that became synonymous with the car. When the Corvette moved to the LS1 in 1997, the firing order was tweaked a bit, and although the sound did change, it still had that deep rumble that we all love.
But the only thing constant in the world is change. For the C8.R, Chevrolet Racing really changed things up with its new mid-engine marvel, but it wasn’t the engine placement that ended the car’s iconic sound signature. It was the engine itself. Gone is the deep baritone exhaust note, replaced instead with a high-pitched Ferrari-like sound. Think puberty in reverse. And although we love the sound of a wound-out Ferrari or other Italian supercars, having that pitch emanate from the back of a Corvette is something that will be hard to get used to. We’re not saying the sound is bad—it’s actually pretty badass—but it’s not even close to the sound signature we’ve come to associate with Corvettes.
The real culprit here isn’t the new 5.5L DOHC V-8 that Chevrolet moved to. Instead, it was the choice to go with a high-revving flat-plane crank. This drastically changed the firing order of the engine and eliminated the classic American V-8 sound that’s typical with the firing sequence of a traditional cross-plane crank. But we know what you’re thinking: “Well, this is just the race car, so I’m going to be able to get my V-8 rumble fix from the production car!” Well, yeah, for now. You see, for Chevrolet Racing to run this new DOHC flat-plane crank mill in the C8.R, it has to, according to the rules, run a similar engine in at least 300 production cars. So does this mean that an eventual C8 Z06 variant will lose its iconic exhaust note?
‘Lost Corvettes’ to be given away: Photos of all 36 rare Chevrolet Corvette sports cars
52 PHOTOS2:11 p.m. EST Jan. 26, 2020
This 1953 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1953 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1954 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1954 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
These 1954 (left) and 1955 Corvettes will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1954 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1955 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1955 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1956 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1956 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1957 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1958 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1959 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1960 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1960 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1961 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1962 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1963 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1964 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1965 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1965 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1966 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1967 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1968 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1968 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1969 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE HEROES
This 1970 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1970 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1971 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1972 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1973 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1973 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1974 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1975 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1975 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1976 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1976 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1977 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1978 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
1979 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1980 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1981 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1982 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1984 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1985 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1985 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1985 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1986 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1987 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1988 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
This 1989 Corvette will be given away as one of the “Lost Corvettes” in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.CORVETTE
These Corvettes, known as the “Lost Corvettes,” will be given away in a promotion by the Corvette Heroes to benefit the National Guard Educational Foundation.
New Corvette Had ‘Reason to Go Back Out’ After Long Delay
Corvette “had reason” to take its No. 4 car back out on track after lengthy repair…
The “tough lessons” of the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R’s tumultuous Rolex 24 at Daytona debut gave Corvette Racing confidence going forward with its new car, according to team manager Ben Johnson.
The silver No. 4 Corvette spent eight hours in its garage during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener after a cracked bell housing resulted in an oil leak.
Having pitted at around 11 p.m. the car eventually returned to the track close to 8 a.m. but it still managed to be classified as a finisher, albeit 327 laps behind the GTLM class winner.
While not divulging the extent of the oil leak and associated damage, Johnson explained why the team kept its car in the garage for so long.
“To fix the problem we had to move the engine back,” he told Sportscar365.
“We tried to do it with the engine installed to expedite it but then we realized that if we wanted to get it back on track, we had to take time to take the engine out and put it back in.
“We just took our time to make sure that there was nothing else. At that point, we were no longer in contention, but we had reason to go out and just understand where else the car may have issues.
“It was just kind of a test session after that.
“I think we will go back and disassemble the whole car. We have some issues to address with the oil leak.”
Oliver Gavin, who shared driving duties in the No. 4 with Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler, said the Corvette crew “wanted to be methodical” about its repairs which added to the length of time it spent in the garage.
The Englishman suggested that the car was starting to show signs of promising pace that it could have taken through the night had the leak not occurred.
“It was really tough on the guys, eight hours of working from midnight until eight in the morning, it was crazy,” Gavin told Sportscar365.
“As soon as that happened, we knew that our day was done and that we wouldn’t be challenging. It was a shame because up to that point, our car had just started to come along.
“It wasn’t super strong right at the start, but we were gaining on it as we went through the race. Could we have been in the mix at the end? Who knows. But there was a lot that we’ve learned from this.
“As a team, we figured a lot of stuff out today. Testing is great but you really see exactly where you are when you come to a race and see where your competition is.
“We’ll take that away and process the data to see how we can make ourselves and the car better for Sebring.”
The No. 3 Corvette fared better than its sister car with Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg bringing home a fourth-place class finish on the lead lap.
Johnson said that this car’s run wasn’t entirely straightforward, but it held up well enough to remain in contention for a podium heading into the final two hours.
“We had a slight clutch issue at one point, but we had fixed it after the first stop that we witnessed it, so it wasn’t a time loss,” he explained.
“But nothing held up that car specifically again. We were really happy that all the execution, pit stops, driver changes… all things that you don’t get to test in anger until you reach the race, all went super well.”
Johnson added that the Rolex 24 has given the Corvette team confidence ahead of its next race outing at the ‘Super Sebring’ endurance racing double-header weekend in March.
“Coming away from our first race with one car on the lead lap… the issue with the oil leak is obviously very apparent, but when we looked at it we realized it’s a pretty simple fix,” he said.
“I think it raises everyone’s confidence that we can get through some of these early tough lessons and move on to Sebring in a much better spot.”
Source: Daniel Llyod for Sportscar365
Corvette C8.R vs C7.R sound comparison
Sports car racing fans have come to know the sound of Corvette Racing’s menacing V8 engines as one of IMSA’s most unmistakable soundtracks. The punch to the chest delivered by the Corvette C7.R through the 2019 season, and all of its predecessors dating back to the program’s debut in 1999, was as unique as it was thrilling.
It makes the brand’s greatest shift with its mid-engine C8.R (pictured above) — which debuts in competition this week at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, featuring a fresh V8 motor with an entirely different voice — a new experience for Corvette fans. Thanks to the move to a flat-plane crankshaft in the 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated powerplants, the C8.Rs strike the ears with a higher pitch that, in typical Corvette Racing fashion, is unlike anything else in the field.
Which exhaust note sounds better? Take a listen to the C8.R from testing at the Roar Before The 24, and from a C7.R during December Daytona testing in 2016, and you decide.
Original Source: Marshall Pruett for Racer.com