For years, the mid-engine Corvette has been “totally about to definitely happen very soon,” but considering how many leaks and spy shots we’ve seen lately, it seems like it’ll actually happen this time. Heck, we’ve even seen a camouflaged prototype stop off to order lunch at a McDonald’s drive-through. The latest reason we’re convinced the mid-engine Corvette is coming? Someone leaked what looks to be official CAD drawings.
Last night, on the aptly named forum CorvetteForum, a user with the name “ZERV” posted a link to CAD images that are almost definitely the mid-engine Corvette. The user didn’t stick around to answer any questions or explain where they found the images. To add fuel to the fire, the images disappeared almost as quickly as they were posted. Then, when user “firebirdfan” posted a backup album, that one was quickly deleted, as well. But since nothing on the internet ever truly disappears, the images live on.
That same user also highlighted several fascinating details shown in the images, like the coilover suspension, shocks that look to be either magnetorheological or ZR2-like spool valves, an engine that looks like an LT1, and quite a few parts that look similar to ones used on recent Corvettes. User “MikeG37” also pointed out that the side skirt shown in the above image almost perfectly matches up with ones we’ve seen on mid-engine Corvette prototypes.
Now, even if these CAD drawings show a very convincing mid-engine Corvette, there’s no guarantee they’re official. Someone could theoretically have created them just for fun. But these are some seriously detailed drawings, and creating them would take a ton of work. If someone actually did design the majority of a mid-engine Corvette purely for kicks and giggles, GM needs to give them a job tomorrow.
The simplest explanation is that these are real drawings. Maybe someone photographed them during some kind of demonstration, or maybe it’s an intentional leak on GM’s part. Either way, we have a hard time believing they’re fake.
So when will we see the actual car? If it’s at an auto show, you have to assume it will be Detroit, which means the big reveal could be about a month away. Then again, we could have to wait more than a year. If we got to choose, we’d pick the former, but sadly, GM doesn’t ask us.
Source: CorvetteForum