Rob Loszewski
Now that the C7 Corvette will soon be entering the 2015 model year and the “Big Nasty” Z06 will be arriving at dealers in August, it’s a good time to take a look at what could be in the Corvette pipeline.
On June 2nd, GM trademarked the name “Zora” as shown on the U.S Patent and Trademark office web site:
On June 2, 2014, GM trademarked the name “Zora”.
It is believed that Corvette Engineers had been working on a mid-engined Corvette concept, but the project had been shelved, in part, due to GM recovering from bankruptcy, and all available funding being funneled into C7 development. Along with that, some automotive publications felt that the C7 would be a mild work-over of the C6 and that it would be a short-lived Corvette generation in order to bring the C8 to market. The C8 Corvette would see a much greater change in the platform than the C7 did. Fast forward to last week, and we see that GM trademarked the name “Zora” on June 2nd.
One of Zora Arkus-Duntov’s greatest dreams, was to build a mid-engined Corvette, but alas, the car never saw the light of production which turned out to be one of Zora’s greatest disappointments.
Several years ago, Ferrari decided to honor the marque’s creator, Enzo Ferrari, by coming out with the hyper exotic Ferrari Enzo. Is it possible that GM intends to honor Zora by coming out with a limited production, special edition Corvette called the “Zora”? It’s possible!
So, here is our official prediction of what we could see down the pipeline: we’ll see another 3-4 years of C7 production until the C8 is unveiled. The C8 will be just as much of a drastic change on the surface as we saw going from C6 to C7. However, under the skin will be even more of a drastic change. The C8 platform will be able to accommodate a mid-engine design and an ultra high-performance, mid-engined Corvette called the “Zora” will be offered. This mid-engined Corvette could be powered in a similar fashion to Porsche’s 918 Spyder supercar, or the new hyper exotic Ferrari LaFerrari ; both of which use a hybrid-based powertrain.
Could our prediction be total BS? Yep. It’s possible that we’ll see a limited edition C7 using the “Zora” name in some way. However, given Zora’s love and desire for a mid-engined Corvette, I can’t help but feel that the best way to honor Zora and his Corvette legacy is to finally bring a mid-engined Corvette to market with his name on it. Time will tell.
Tell us what you think below!
