Bradan Donaldson
GM Design shared a couple intriguing sketches of a bold, sleek Chevrolet SUV on Instagram – could this be the Corvette SUV of the future?
Over the last few months, there’s been a lot of talk about the electrified future of the Corvette and the possibility of a Corvette SUV to broaden the brand and take on Porsche and BMW who have been quite successful in the SUV market.
A month ago, Motor Trend shed quite a spotlight on the upcoming high performance variants of the Corvette that are in the pipeline and back in January, the internet lit up like the fourth of July when Michael Simcoe – Vice President of GM Global Design, shared a photo of various electrified GM vehicles during a virtual presentation of GM’s EV plans for Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and GMC. In the background was a mysterious photo of an SUV that everyone questioned whether or not it was a Corvette SUV.
More recently, one of our favorite automotive journalists, Don Sherman, published an interesting article on the website of the Society of Automotive Engineers regarding the upcoming electrified Corvettes.
Much of what he shared was very similar to what Motor Trend had published last month, but at the end of his article he mentioned “Project R” which is supposedly GM’s internal project name for the electrified Corvette SUV coming in 2025 according to Bloomberg’s Businessweek publication.
It’s believed that GM’s upcoming Ultium battery-pack platform will provide the versatility that Chevrolet needs to bring a wide range of high performance electric cars, trucks and SUVs to market. This is the platform that will help GM meet its goal of bringing 30 new electric vehicles to market by 2025.
While many traditionalists cringe at the thought of the Corvette spawning an SUV model, it might just be what the Corvette brand needs to solidify its continuation into an all-electric future.
Thanks to GM Design on Instagram, we now have a glimpse of what an all-electric Corvette SUV could look like.
Sketched by GM designer Youngho Jung, the lines are bold, and sleek for an SUV which is something we don’t often see in Chevrolet’s current SUV offerings.
While the side profile is reminiscent of Chevy’s current Blazer SUV, it’s really the rear end of this sketch that caught us with its sleek rear hatch window and tail-light design. Replace that Chevy bowtie with a Corvette crossed-flags emblem, and it’s not too hard to envision this design sketch as a Corvette SUV.
Admittedly, I’ve never been a huge SUV fan. They definitely have their place in the busy lives of many people and you definitely can’t dispute their utility and convenience. I really don’t need an SUV in my life and right now, there’s an overabundance of ho-hum SUVs on the road.
When it comes to Chevrolet’s current SUV lineup, the only one that kind of peaked my interest was the Blazer. The exterior design, for the most part was brilliant, but slip behind the wheel of one and suddenly you start to fee like you could be inside an Equinox or Tahoe.
If Chevrolet is truly going to bring a Corvette SUV to market, they need to retain the Corvette’s unique DNA both inside and out. It needs to be instantly recognizable as a member of the Corvette family, and when you climb inside and drive it, you know and feel like your driving a member of the Corvette family – not just some other SUV trying to be something it’s not.
Last but not least, for the love of all things holy, I beg of you GM – DO NOT introduce a Corvette SUV with a marketing ad that shows some woman looking at in on the side of the road and commenting on how “it looks like a piece of candy” like you did with the Blazer. That was an epic fail.
The last thing I want is someone to think that what I’m driving “looks like a piece of candy”, especially if it’s a Corvette!
Source: generalmotorsdesign
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