This Is What GM Thinks The Next Chevrolet Corvette Could Become

Corvette Cosmetics Reimagined By California Design Team

A couple of months ago, General Motors revealed a Corvette concept created by its UK design team, reimagining the sports car as an electric hypercar, announcing that other GM design studios will do the same throughout this year. The latest concept is from the Pasadena, California team, which has given its concept an active rear spoiler and air brake, 21-inch front wheels with 22s at the rear, and a T-shaped chassis to accommodate a theoretical battery pack. From the back, the massive diffuser calls to mind cars like the Praga Bohema and Aston Martin Valkyrie, but the real party piece is the roof, which is actually a removable front-hinged canopy for track use. Obviously, occupants would need to wear helmets for this configuration.

Similar Size To C8, Similar Interior Styling

GM says the concept is 182.5 inches long, just 0.2 inches longer than today’s C8, but 7.2 inches shorter in height. A 109-inch wheelbase would make the concept 1.8 inches roomier, and looking inside, it seems that California’s design team doesn’t want to push the boundaries too far. A divider between the occupants, where the 2025 Corvette has its Great Wall of Buttons, provides a sense of familiarity, but instead of a traditional cluster, this ‘Vette has critical driver info just below the hood line, like in the BMW Panoramic Vision system, but using augmented reality for the head-up display graphics rather than a physical display.

The infotainment system is out of reach of the passenger, with a small screen on the steering wheel, and the center console only offers wireless smartphone charging and a couple of buttons. One appears to be for hazards, while the other seems to be shaped like a rocket, a motif that reappears all over the current ZR1 in reference to the Gemini engine program, itself named after NASA’s second successful human spaceflight project. Perhaps that’s launch mode. The designers have also put some paddles behind the wheel, likely for adjusting energy recuperation levels. Bucket seats with harnesses are molded to the body – there’s no space for sliding chairs in a hypercar like this.

Inspiration Seems To Come From Everywhere

The shapes employed by this concept aren’t unlike those of other hypercar designs. There’s some definite Jaguar C-X75 in the short rear end, the wheels, and the rocker panels, some Koenigsegg in the glasshouse, and perhaps some Rimac Concept_One in the overall silhouette and two-tone design. The central support in the lower front fascia isn’t unlike that of a LaFerrari, but zoom out, and the slanting front end reminds me of an actual stingray, while the headlight clusters look like they’re borrowed from an Acura NSX.

We’re not complaining about any of this – many of the shapes can still be traced to previous Corvettes, and the rules of aerodynamics dictate several others – but we’d have liked to see what the concept would look like without its canopy roof. Perhaps GM will provide more images before the next Corvette concept is unveiled.