GMs Mark Reuss Says ‘Very Proud of C8 Corvette’ During Corvette ZR1 Ride and Drive

By
Keith Cornett
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GMs Mark Reuss Says 'Very Proud of C8 Corvette' During Corvette ZR1 Ride and Drive


One of the more contentious debates happening in the Corvette hobby is the designation of the mid-engine Corvette as the C8 Corvette.

Those for it say that no matter the engine location, the ME represents the next generation of Corvette development and therefore it’s a C8. Those opposed believe that the mid-engine Corvette represents a whole new line and that only a new front-engine Corvette could be called the C8.

What side of the fence are you on?

Or more importantly, what is the new Corvette being called by insiders at GM?

Our friend John at the MidEngineCorvetteForum.com has come across an interesting video featuring GM’s Mark Reuss, now heading the Cadillac brand, who mentioned both the end of C7 and the new C8 at a Ride and Drive event earlier this year.

Reuss was at the April 23rd gathering at Road Atlanta where America’s foremost automotive journalists were invited to drive the new 2019 Corvette ZR1. During the presentation, Reuss says the following:

“I can’t really answer the question about what we are doing for C8 or what’s the future of the Corvette today. But I can tell you that this is the best C7 that we’ll ever make. The ZR1…755 horsepower…this is the car. This is the end of C7. That I can tell you. And more to come, and we are very proud of what’s going to happen on C8.”

Did he just say C8? Yes, he did. You can see it here at 5:30 into the video:


John notes that Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter said something similar about the end of C7 during the launch of the Corvette ZR1 at a private reveal just days before the L.A. Auto Show. At that reveal, Tadge said this was the end for C7 development, which John thought at the time made a lot of sense as we figure that GM was shifting development resources for the upcoming mid-engine Corvette.

John mentions that insiders have been calling the ME Corvette by its internal project name of “ZERV” and while Reuss may have been prompted with a question about the C8 during that press presentation, he still called it the C8.

And let’s not forget that Harlan Charles, again prompted with a question about the next-generation race car at the NCM Bash’s Corvette Racing dinner said: “When we are done racing the C7.R, we will race the C8.R.”

While the general consensus is that the C7 and C8s will be sold side-by-side for the next couple of years, what if we took the words of Mark and Tadge literally, meaning that we are not even going to see any more C7s built after this model year? That would cause a massive sea change in the Corvette world and it’s a direction for the brand that has yet to be debunked. So yeah, this could happen!

While this conversation about the mid-engine Corvette being the C8 or not the C8 will be moot in just a couple of months, it’s an interesting development and so we’ll be keeping our eyes and ears open at Carlisle to see if any other GM’ers are using the terminology as well.


Source:
MidEngineCorvetteForum.com

Related:
GM Trademarks the Mid-Engine Corvette Name of ZORA Across the World…Including China!
[PICS] Corvette C8.R Spy Photos Inspire New Renderings of the Mid-Engine Corvette
[SPIED] Spy Photos of the Mid-Engine Corvette C8.R Offers the Best Look Yet at the Upcoming C8

 



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8 COMMENTS

  1. I hear there is a job at the pepper factory for somebody to pick out and discard the fly shit…Seriously, why would not the next Corvette model be the “C8”? There seems be a certain logic to that, at least in my mind.

  2. Of course it should be called the C8, it is the Corvette’s next generation.
    Mid-Rear Engine happens to be the next Corvette technology.
    Albeit, there should definitely be a ZORA model.

    By the way, did anyone notice the first three GTLM finishing positions at VIR were front engine!
    Does anyone really think M-RE is going to give Corvette Racing any distinct advantage
    as long as BoP is around?!

    Being an old guy, and a purist, I’ll hang to and continue to drive my 1980, 4 spd man, NCECA.
    [No Captain Electron Computerized Anything!]
    149,655 on the odo, no ECMs to worry about failing, and not being able to find an NOS replacement.

    For those that subscribe to Vette Vues, find your April 2018 issue. Read the story about a 1980 Corvette with a trailer that travels the USA. That’s me.
    Mike Waal
    8TY4SPD w/-TRUNK

  3. Well, I don’t see a deeper sense in this article and I don’t know now more than before. It’s all speculations only, which every Corvette fan already heard 100 times.

  6. This is really simple to me. The C8.R clears up a lot of conjecture. For example:

    A. The car at Elkardt Lake IS a Corvette. Corvette Racing isn’t being abandoned or going to run alongside a new GTLM Cadillac entry.
    B. The car at Elkhardt Lake IS the .R version of the the cars we’ve seen running around camo’d up. The lines are identical.
    C. The car at Elkhardt Lake IS the .R version of the CAD images we have seen.
    D. The CAD images show multiple engine types including the current LT1.
    E. Corvette is known to be the biggest bang for the buck. At $150K the buyer’s market narrows and mid-engine options broaden. An LT1 at $150K will likely not be chosen over McLaren, Lambo, Porche GTS or Ferrari (New or Used).
    F. Corvette has wanted to steal buyer’s, not directly compete with cars that cost 3x as much.
    G. If this were a halo car, why offer 3 engine options?
    H. The ME car at a $65K-$80K price-point compels everyone to look at what Europe builds for 3x the money and what Corvette is now doing. The fact is, Lambo, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Audi all have this platform and are considered exotic. The ME (despite being GM) will sit perched right along side them and compel people to say “Damn, look at this thing for this price.” Everyone says the ME looks like a Ferrari etc. Isn’t that what you want. Not a twin but similar for 1/3 the cost. “THAT” is a dream come true.

    Of course I could be wrong…..However, the C8.R (We are certain that’s what that thing is at Elkhardt Lake) proves that what’s coming IS a Corvette and likely not a halo only.

  7. Speaking of Ferrari, they still make front-engine vehicles as well as ME so why not broaden the Corvette brand and sell both?

  8. Great point Cguy! Plus Ferrari sells a “Shooting Brake” as a grocery-gitter, and they have a 20% increase in sales going for them this year over their model line – life is good, eh? I prefer the more conservative ME look of the C8, Porsche Cayman or Audi TT as opposed to the Aventador/Pagane/Koenigsegg look…so does my bank account.

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