Rob Loszewski
Spy photographers were working overtime last week capturing some of the best photos and videos we’ve seen yet of the upcoming 2020 C8 mid-engine Corvette.
What’s interesting to note is that we can now easily tell that the mid-engine Corvette will come with a removable roof panel option like previous generations before it, and we can now see what size tires this next generation Corvette will come with.
Tires & Brakes
The Tires on this particular prototype appear to be Michelin Pilot Sport 4S:
- Front: 245/35ZR19 – same size as the fronts on a C7 Stingray
- Rear: 305/30ZR20 – wider than the rear tires on a C7 Stingray, but smaller than the rear tires on a Z06 or ZR1
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires have been available for about a year now and are considered to be Michelin’s ultra-high performance summer tire.
Looking at the rear, we also see a dual brake caliper setup which is the first time we’ve seen this on a Corvette. In some cases, the second brake caliper is the emergency brake where the first brake caliper does not have an emergency brake integrated. However a dual brake caliper system is also used in some cases where the bulk of a vehicles weight rests on the tires. In this case, since the engine is in the back of the car, that would explain the dual caliper setup we see here.
Interior
Right now, not much is known about the interior as spy photographers haven’t been able to get up close enough to take photos, however, that doesn’t prevent the camera from seeing through the windshield!
Various spy photos posted online show what appears to be a flat-top steering wheels – similar to the Ford uses in the new Ford GT. To the best or our knowledge, it serves no useful purpose other than racing aesthetics.
Our best guess is that what we’re seeing here is a the entry-level mid-engine Corvette with more higher performance models to follow after.
In the mean time, enjoy the video below of a mid-engine Corvette caught taking off from a stop sign with, what definitely sounds like a V8-engine under the hood.
Click on the photos below for a larger view!
