Words: Robby Pacicco / Paolo Pedicelli of vroomfoto.com
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Bob Dylan went electric, KISS took off their makeup and Chevrolet put the engine in the middle of a Corvette. Unlike fans of Mr. Dylan and the guys wanting to rock n’ roll all night and party every day, Corvette fans welcomed the shift in direction. For years, the Vette army dreamed of the bowtie branded sports car to have the engine positioned in the proper spot. Yes, it’s been well documented by now how the Chevrolet Corvette (known as the C8) is the first ever in production of its name to have a mid-engine and rear wheel drive layout. It is receiving praise, awards and love. Did it come to us too late, or just in time? The future holds that answer. For now, it’s the Corvette we need and a perfect successor to all the generations of it before.
Evolution is no stranger to the Corvette, considering it has been with us since 1953, when it was dubbed the C1. Time goes by, do-wop turns to rock n’ roll and then arises the sharp C2 “Stingray”. Some years later not long before Woodstock, the sharkesque looking C3 swims in and carries on the torch during the disco era until the C4 joins the party just in time for hair metal and influx of synthesizers for the 1980s. You get the picture by now, the Corvette has been around long enough to see everything retro become new again at least three or four times. It is the textbook automotive chord progression that it needed to follow. Just like musicians, they refer to the eighth octave on the scale of “C” as a C8. The C8 in music is the highest pitch that can be played on a full piano. In the car world, the C8 is the highest possible note that can be played, for now. Obviously as time continues on and there would eventually be a replacement for the C8, most likely referred to as the C9, Chevrolet will have updated the rule book and created new octaves to hit.
As a performance car, the C8 Corvette is meant to be a track star and a shop hopping errand runner. Something worth driving every day and guaranteed to bring smiles to the two occupants it can hold. Powerful V8 propulsion from the rear wheels and a piercing shape make this machine an instant classic and future collectible. It looks like previous Vettes from certain angles, yet still looks different from others. Chevrolet have yet another winner on their hands and enthusiasts can only imagine what higher performance renditions may follow suit. Things did change yet they remain exactly as they were. Same legendary nameplate, same appropriate advancement, just in a different scale of C. Now what will it take Chevrolet to bring back the famous round taillights? Ah, that doesn’t really matter anyway, right? No, it doesn’t. As long as they don’t go change the name to C. Vettie, Chrisette Gaines or something that isn’t Corvette, then there really shouldn’t be a problem.
