[SPIED] Could This C8 Widebody Undergoing Emissions Testing Actually Be the Rumored Grand Sport?

By
Keith Cornett
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12
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[SPIED] Could This C8 Widebody Undergoing Emissions Testing Actually Be the Rumored Grand Sport?


I came across this photo today on Facebook, but unfortunately, I do not know the original source so my apologies for not being able to cite as a credit. We found it posted to the C8 Z06 and E-Ray Corvette page on Facebook.

What we see here is a C8 widebody with a Z06 high wing and a corner mounted exhaust that appears to have some sort of emissions testing equipment hooked to the rear end. There are a number of reasons why this could be an important find.

GM might want us to believe that it’s an export Z06 that is undergoing emissions testing. That would be the simplest explanation as perhaps there was something that required additional testing for those markets. It would have been interesting to know if this was also a right-hand drive model, as that would have confirmed that it’s an export.

OR…

Maybe we are looking at the long-rumored C8 Grand Sport, shown as a widebody wearing a Z06 high wing, and testing a new mystery motor. We’ve heard tell that there are several mules that were built at Bowling Green that are running around on the streets and hiding them as Z06s would be an easy thing to do.

My flaw in that theory is that there is no camo on the rear glass to keep unwanted eyes out, which is something I think Chevy engineers would do if they were testing something else in that space.

I could be wrong, but seeing a widebody C8 with emissions-testing equipment would mean either a new engine is being tested and monitored, or there enough changes to the content of an existing car that required a new emissions test. We saw that with the 2024 Stingray after a bunch of new safety equipment was added to the car.

So, are we looking at the Grand Sport, which is now rumored as a possible 2027 model? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.


Source:
C8 Z06 and E-Ray Corvette / Facebook

Related:
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RUMOR: Is a Bump In Horsepower for the LT2 V8 Engine In the Works?
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12 COMMENTS

  1. When I was a newbie I bought a 2016 Stingray.
    My first corvette. I wasn’t tuned in. It was a very nice vette. I put the ZO6 grille on it.
    Then I got on the forum and learned about the Grand Spirt for 2017. Traded up. The C7 sweet spot.
    I have a C8 Z51. I’d love to know the specs of a C8 GS.

  4. My thoughts go directly to the possibility that this is the LT3. That would be nice if they offer the Z07 wing on the Grand Sport.

  5. All that shit hooked up to the back of it looks weird as hell. It would be cool if they would come out with a C8 Grand Sport. Just like the C6 and C7 Grand Sports it would be a nice unique model and no it wouldn’t be a “Z06 poser or wannabe”.

  6. Flux capacitor testing. Just joking. Why a Grand Sport when they can’t sell the cars they make today. GM is all about earnings per share and not what’s cool.

  9. C8 GS would be the biggest poser of them all. Performance would barely edge out a Z51 at all (or lose in some cases). Liable to be spanked off the line by SR’s and even beaten around the track by them. M/R already has all the weight in the right place, and 325’s or 335’s are already possible on the SR; widebody isn’t necessary to support them. LARP’ing with a widebody at least offered tangible performance gain for the F/R generations. With the C8–GS is firmly in poser territory. If a C8 GS does come out, owning one is the ultimate sign of being a poser. Look for most of them to come in HTC and center exhaust–so they can at least “fake” being a Z06 while standing still. Nobody wants to emulate an ER. Those who like the ER–would just buy a darn ER and not “fake it” with a worse performing car that looks 90% similar.

    And there is no LT3. Whatever GM is going to call the gen VI engine, it makes 0 logic to keep the “LT” prefix, especially when it’s been in use extensively for gen V already (LT1, LT2, LT4, LT5) and even had Gemini engines tossed into the nomenclature for no good reason (LT6, LT7)–which was probably done to not “break the seal” on the gen VI naming convention. They’d have 0 space to add successive models to the gen VI nomenclature by keeping the “LT”.

  11. What is all this foolish poser talk? There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting an affordable c8 that looks as nice as a z06. Our demographic doesn’t need 670 hp. We aren’t tracking it. And we’re not all rich. I’m not spending 130k on a c8. But I’d purchase a widebody c8 gs in a heartbeat.

  12. Jaymz, that is the definition of being a poser. Someone wants the “high end” appearance, but doesn’t want to pay for it, and doesn’t want the performance that goes along with the genuine article.

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