Corvette C7 On Hold? (thx corvette action center)

Corvette C7 On Hold?

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Interesting comments by Motor Trend Magazine:

CAFE bites: Corvette C7, RWD Impala on hold

Posted Today 12:52 PM by Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend Magazine

Well placed sources have confirmed GM has put the next generation C7 Corvette program on hold, pending a review of the impact of the 35mpg CAFE laws due to come into effect in 2020.

The problem for GM is that while 35mpg is the target for 2020, automakers have no idea what the transitional fuel consumption targets are in the interim. In other words, they have no idea how they should be planning to get from today's CAFE number to 2020's. Transitional fuel consumption targets are not expected to be finalized until the end of 2009.

The C7 is not the only GM program on hold because of a lack of clarity over how automakers will be expected to get to 35mpg by 2020: The rear-drive Zeta-based Chevy sedan (which now may or may not be called Impala) is also on the back-burner. GM still wants to build the big Chevy, however, because the production volumes help the business case for the Cadillac DTS/STS replacement that will be built off the same basic architecture. Both cars will be built here in the U.S., not Australia.

As we outlined last year GM had been evaluating three different scenarios for the C7, due 2012 - an evolution of the current V-8 powered, rear drive layout; an all-new mid-engine design; and a car based around the smaller, lighter Kappa component set.

A strong faction inside GM had been pushing hard to make the C7 mid-engined. Corvette chief engineer Tom Wallace told me last year the mid-engine design had the potential to be more fuel efficient, primarily because it allowed cylinder de-activation without the vibration issues caused by the front engined car's long prop-shaft connection to the rear-mounted transaxle transmission.

However any idea of a mid-engined Corvette died with the uncertainty over interim fuel consumption targets, along with concerns that a mid-engine design would compromise GM's ability to offer an affordable convertible version (packaging a soft-top or a folding hardtop in a mid-engined car is tricky).

Wallace made a point of telling me last week at the Detroit Show that a regular LS2 powered Corvette with a 300lb weight reduction would deliver the same performance as a 505-hp Z06. Reading between the lines, that suggests we should be prepared for a C7 that's evolutionary rather than revolutionary, with a focus on reduced mass rather than increased horsepower.