[SPIED] The C8 Mid-Engine Corvette Spotted Again with a Porsche 911 Carrera S on Public Streets

Our friends at AutoBlog had another C8 Mid-Engine Corvette sighting last week as several heavily camouflaged prototypes were spotted testing on public streets. What caught our attention are some of the other vehicles along for the ride.

With the C8 Mid-Engine prototypes were a C7 Z06, a C7 ZR1 and a Porsche 911 Carrera S that we assume is being used as the benchmark comparison for Chevy’s engineers.

The images of the C8 prototypes don’t really show us anything new. The prototype photos are showing the two different sets of wheels that we’ve seen previously. The angled side skirts that flow from front to the rear of the car lead into the large side mounted intake vents. The bottom of the rear fascia is uncovered giving us an unobstructed view of the exhaust ports and rear venting.

We’ve seen a Porsche 911 Carrera S with the C8 Mid-Engine Corvette prototypes before when they first made their public debut with a lunch run to McDonald’s in Cadillac, MI last fall. Porsche ranks 2nd in sales behind the Corvette in the Luxury Sport category, and the last two years (2016,2017) they have sold around 8,900 units annually. So testing against your closest sales competitor also makes a lot of sense.

While the Porsche 911 Carrera S is actually a rear-engined car, its performance specs are what makes it an interesting comparison to the upcoming C8 Corvette.

According to internet-sourced reviews, the Carrara S is powered by a twin-turbo DOHC 24-valve flat-6 engine capable of producing 420-hp and 368 lb-ft of torque. In a 2017 test, Car and Driver shows a 0-60 mph sprint timed at 3.1 seconds and an 11.4 second quarter mile @ 123 mph. Fuel economy is unremarkable at a combined 24 mpg.

Car and Driver also notes the base price of the Carrera S was $107,650 and price as tested was $139,945 as it included some pricey options including a $2590 front-end lift system, $8520 for carbon ceramic brakes, and $3140 for the special Miami Blue paint among the upgrades.

Our thoughts are the base C8 will come with the 6.2 liter LT1 that will feature a power increase from 460 to 500 horsepower while the MSRP be somewhere in the mid-$70Ks. If the C8 can close the performance gap with the Carrera S in its base form, and it should, think what it will do to those numbers when the upper-level models come to market.

Source:
Autoblog and Car and Driver

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