NemesisC5

A bit of history I ran across and thought may be of interest or relevance to this thread. As previously mentioned GM trademarked the L88 moniker along with the name "Zora". The following article is not directly related in any way except for history of the L88 at Le Mans 1972 supported behind the scenes by Zora Arkus-Duntov. As a race fan and Corvette enthusiast I would love to see a C7 of similar pedigree as the 2014 Z28 with a GEN V L88 direct injected (N/A) powerplant and hopefully with 427 CID displacement. Only a passing thought similar to others that have posted here which may never come to fruition in any form. Along those lines I thought an article from Corvette Magazine worthy of posting for others to read. Link at the bottom of post.

Le Mans Memories

With L88 power propelling it to 212 mph down the Mulsanne Straight, a Corvette fielded by a privateer team from Florida made a strong showing at the 24 Hour of Le Mans in 1972.

July 28, 2014

http://www.corvette-mag.com/issues/9...1#.U9_EFfldV8E

Shurshot

Great story of the histroy of the L88 and the commitment of a private owner in the link

Thanks for sharing

NemesisC5

You're welcome

dmaxx3500

yep,it should be a mid-eng supercar,$195k price tag and 220mph top end

65 fi

Very, very cool.

RoganR

RoganR

http://wot.motortrend.com/1408_scoop...e_is_a_go.html

thegame

Forget the car, more pics of girl in AV please!!

NemesisC5

Picture looks great. Personally I don't see a need for a mid engine Vette since the "weight distribution" has been great since the C5 model. Unless switching to a mid engine configuration allows the car to be built with AWD and keeps curb weight comparable to other mid engine super cars I don't see a reason for it. Again, the rendering above looks great. I'd be very curious if built what the weight bias would be.

BOBSZ06

Certainly will lay the ground work for the C8 hybrid with the electric motors. Expect this to be the transition car without the hybridization.
Love the front as they can slope it down more w/o the engine...looks great!

And no fender spats!

Shurshot

Picture looks great, first vette I can imagine with scissor doors that would look good

While I put my flame suit on i might add that I could see wheel driven hybrid technology fitting very well in this configuration

AWD is a good thing but the McClaren cars have proven that mid engine rear drive can run with or out-run the best of the AWD cars other than on wet surfaces.

Being as this article is from MT, it is probably just some editors dream vette and nothing else

HolyRoller

Now Corrode & Crack needs to weigh in, even though I'll never forgive them for the cover story on the Honda S3000 they said was coming in 2008.

But let us indulge for a minute in the possibility that this one isn't complete bohunk. I'd be extremely, very extremely, interested in a convertible version, so long as the frunk is big enough for a tent and sleeping bag in stuff sacks, since I'd be selling the house.

NemesisC5

Be sure to remember the 2011-2012 McLaren MP4-12C features a carbon fibre composite chassis with a curb weight of 3161 lbs. Lots of F1 DNA including "brake steer" where the inside rear wheel is braked during fast cornering to reduce understeer. At the time it sold for slightly less than $400k US currency I believe. The newer McLaren P1 tips the scales about a 100 lbs lighter with the added electric power units and tops 900 HP and 700 Ft/LBs TQ of gas and electric power combined. Also noteworthy the P1 sells for slightly over $1.3m US currency last I read.

The C7 ZO6 will likely have a curb weight of 3400+ LBS so unless a mid engine format is inherently lighter to build with the same materials being used in the current C7 ZO6 a mid engine Corvette will not see the rear wheel drive performance of any McLaren.

Shureshot, in no way were my comments intended to flame you "already fully clothed in your flame suit", merely to point out some "top of the mind" recollections I have of the McLaren platform and technology. I agree 100% with you on the good looks of the C8 rendering and hope of it's potential. I have faith that GM can build a C7 ZO6 in its current front engine format that will compete with "many of the best in the world" on the Nurburgring as a common test ground, however I don't know anything about building a 2 WD or AWD mid engine from scratch using material and technology restraints to keep said car affordable by main body demographic of Corvette owners.

The Highlander

The problem with the mid engine design is the engine bay heat and the fire-prone it becomes.

05dsom

are there current issues with Gallardo's/Aventador's, 458's, R8's, Veyrons, Huayra's, Elise's/Evora's, Mp4-12c's/650s', etc... that I haven't heard about?

RoganR

I'll take the comment as a compliment, however I posted up enough of her in the past.

So you are an s2000 fan I assume. Do you have an S2000? Let me know so I can ask a few questions from someone who most likely owned a vette.

BOBSZ06

http://wot.motortrend.com/1408_scoop...e_is_a_go.html

"However, a GM source recently told us that the Z06’s supercharged LT4 is capable of producing 1000 hp, though traction is an issue in the C7. Mid-engine weight distribution would help to put more weight over the rear tires."


Look for the 2017 Zora model to produce 800+ HP with their LT4 twin turbo mid-engine. It will be the transitional car to the mid-engine C8 with likely one model being a hybrid and using a twin turbo V6 in the same platform.

This 2017 Zora is most likely going to be THE Corvette gas IC engine HP wise as after that it be transitioned into the hybrid C8. That will mark the end of the HP wars as the 775 HP Mustang, 800 HP Nismo GT-R and the likes compete with this Corvette Zora.