Autoweek has published a batch of photos of what appears to be a C7 Corvette mule captured out in the wild by spy photographer Brian Williams of Brenda Priddy & Co. What is noticeable right away on the Cyber Grey Corvette Grand Sport appears to be a lengthened wheel base.
Judging by the gap around the front tires, we’re looking at a wheelbase that appears to be longer than the 105.7 inches found on the C6 Corvette. Other points of interest include the rear exhaust which shows the quad design found on the C6, but only the two center pipes appear to be open while the outer pipes on each side are covered or capped off.
Like the previous C7 Corvette mule that was captured on film, it appears the tires on the Grand Sport are narrower than the usual 275/35ZR18 tires in front and the 325/30ZR19 on the rear. On the Grand Sport’s wide body, this gives the appearance of the wheels being tucked under the fenders.
Production of the next generation Corvette is widely anticipated to be a 2014 model launched sometime in the second half of 2013.
The article also gives us a litany of previously discussed changes which have been bouncing around for a while and those that are new like the 7-Speed manual gearbox. Autoweek further speculates that the hydroformed aluminum frame used on the C6’s Z06 and ZR1 models will be dropped in favor of a steel frame that would be used on all C7 Corvettes.
Whatever the case, its great to finally see the mules out and about. Check out the photos from Autoweek and let us know your thoughts or observations on these new photos.
Update:
The Corvette mule that was captured in the Autoweek photos were part of a group of Corvettes that were also photographed by KGP and published at Road and Track.
Source:
Autoweek.com
Related:
Inside Line: C7 Corvette to be Offered with a 7-Speed Manual Gearbox
Ed Welburn: Don’t Screw Up the Corvette’s Redesign
Left Lane News Shows Spy Pics of C7 Corvette Mule
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Why would they speculate that the aluminum frame would be dropped in favor of the steel frame for all models? I would think the exact opposite.
That is exactly what I thought when I read it. I can’t see 1 reason to substitute steel for aluminiumin other than price but I’m not an engineer!
Why a steel frame instead of aluminum? Think of reason as keeping a game score; bean counters 1, engineers 0. And the bean counters have been winning for more than 40 years now.
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