Twenty miles from Birmingham England in Royal Leaminton Spa, England GM has their global design studio, an advanced design studio that is tasked with creating special projects for the divisions of GM. In this case, the UK design studio was tasked with creating the first of three Corvette Concepts that will usher in the C9 next generation performance car. GM's global design network spans studios in Detroit, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Seoul. Prepare for a year of Excitement!!!!
These concepts will be revealed throughout 2025 showing the inspiration that is to come to the future of performance driving. This Corvette Concept 1 is the start of driving ideation, innovation and collaboration across the GM global family. This first concept is to show the working production scale of Cadillac's electric vehicle business in Europe and to prepare the launch of Corvette sales across the UK and Mainland Europe in 2025.
Michael Simcoe, Senior VP of Global Design had this to say:
"Our advanced design team’s mandate extends well beyond creating production vehicles. While they collaborate within our global design network on production and concept vehicle programs, these teams are primarily tasked with imagining what mobility could look like five, 10, and even 20 years into the future and driving innovation for GM."
Using a blank-page approach, the UK studio acknowledged the long history of the corvette nameplate and how it has been leveraged to introduce experimental cars, concepts and prototypes that push the boundaries of automotive design and engineering, and the new UK design concept is no exception. The production team knows that no production intention is behind the concepts, but that these working prototypes are to gauge customer reaction both positively and negatively to the style, design elements and potential production pieces.
Simcoe stated: “As part of the Corvette creative study, we asked multiple studios to develop hypercar concepts, which we’ll see more of later this year. It was important that they all pay homage to Corvette’s historic DNA, but each studio brought their own unique creative interpretation to the project. That is exactly what our advanced design studio network is intended to do – push the envelope, challenge convention and imagine what could be.”
Drawing inspiration from the aviation industry in stealth fighters, the UK team incorporated iconic design elements of the Corvette with a futuristic clean form plus muscular shape to what the Corvette could be.
Pointed out as one of the most unusual and significant aspects of this concepts design is the inspired centerline focus of the front which is inspired by the Split Rear Window of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray. This feature is a singular vertical central spine that is also an acting structural element in the roof, providing a panoramic view of the road and surroundings.
This design includes a two distinctive auto body design. The upper half capturing classic Corvette design elements. The lower half focused on the future of technology, including EV battery technology embedded into the structure and aerodynamic elements that are designed to channel air efficiently without the need for wings or spoilers.
Concept technical specifications and assumptions:
Body structure:
- Additive manufacturing body structure
- For low mass, manufacturing efficiency, part count reduction and driving agility
- Halo roof structure with wind shield center spar
Body panels:
- Additive manufactured structure exposed for light weight authenticity
- Part integration, panel count reduction
Closures:
- Full wrap around side glass to deliver Apex Vision
- Powered wing door design
Aero-Duality:
- On-road efficiency and on-track performance in harmony
- Fan assistance and active ducting to redirect air over and through the vehicle
- On-road: flowing forms, functional intakes and vented surfaces
- On road: air directed through vehicles to fill its wake, increasing efficiency and range
- On track: like an aircraft wing, aero surfaces reconfigure, dorsal fins deploy and spoiler venting creates aero vectoring to enhance cornering performance
- Sculpted underbody, lowered ride height and fan assistance delivers ground effect
Chassis:
- Racecar inspired, package efficient, pushrod suspension set-up
Interface:
-
Windshield center spar augmented display
- 1033mm tall / 2178mm width / 4669mm length (40.66 inches tall x 86 inches wide x 184 inches long)
- 22inch front wheel / 23inch rear wheel
- 127mm (5 inches) seat height – race car inspired
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