Chevrolet has announced two variants of its newest Corvette: C8.R (racecar) and Convertible. Both should premiere in the coming fall.
Right now, the Corvette C8 ships with a brand-new, naturally aspirated 6.2 V8 engine rated at 497 hp (371 kW) and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque. You may opt for the Z51 Performance package for a slight boost to 502 hp (374 kW) and 637 Nm (470 lb-ft), but no other drivetrain options are available.
It is official that the Convertible gets the same engine. As for the C8.R, no details are being provided so far, but we presume it will get a tweaked version of the same 6.2 V8.
The previous-gen racecar, the Corvette C7.R, came equipped with a 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 rated at 498 hp (372 kW). Numerous victories in various races (including the LMGTE Pro category of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans) urged the company to design and launch a road-legal variant of the racecar, dubbed the Corvette Drivers Series. Supposing that the C8.R gets the same treatment, its mid-engine configuration should make it more maneuverable in curves.
The recently launched 8th-gen Chevrolet Corvette is the American marque’s first production sports car to utilize the mid-engine layout. Granted, there was the 1960 Corvette CERV I Concept, but it never went into series. The principal reason for the layout switch was the marque’s participation in the GT racing championship, where all vehicles are mid-engined.