2020 Chevy mid-engine Corvette C8 rolls out of the hangar, ready for liftoff

We’re covering the C8 Corvette reveal live and will be updating this story throughout the night.

TUSTIN, Calif. — When the new Ford GT debuted a few years back, it was a true surprise, one of the last real ones we can remember. By contrast, few things in the automotive landscape have been as long-awaited as the mid-engine Chevy Corvette. Chevy has made no secret of the reveal, parading a camouflaged prototype through the streets of New York City with today’s date stamped along the side. After decades of concepts, leaks, teasers, illustrations, magazine covers, fever dreams and rampant speculation by anyone and everyone, the C8 is truly and finally here introduced by astronauts Mae Jemison and Scott Kelly on Thursday night in a massive aircraft hangar, ushering in a new era for America’s sports car. 

The 2020 Chevy Corvette gets a 6.2-liter LT2 naturally aspirated V8 engine that makes 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque with the optional exhaust. Without the sport exhaust it makes 495 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The engine is visible through the 3.2-millimeter glass pane, and it’s a real gem to look at. An eight-speed dual-clutch Tremec transmission will be swapping the cogs, and there is no manual option. Chevy isn’t giving an exact acceleration time right now, but it says the 0-60 mph run will be under 3 seconds. 

Chevy is giving all C8 Corvettes a coilover suspension, so no more leafs. A Z51 package adds an adjustable suspension — you can change the stiffness and the ride height. Additionally, GM is introducing Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 with the C8 as an option. 

The C8’s interior is a radical departure from the current car’s cockpit. The C7 was already fairly driver-oriented, but the new car takes things further with a long row of buttons separating the passenger seat from the center console. The whole thing is tilted down toward the driver, and the low dash should provide excellent forward visibility. While the C7 used a few analog gauges alongside the digital display, the C8’s instrument cluster is all digital. The floating 12-inch infotainment screen looks handsome, but the hidden storage compartment behind the screen itself appears to be gone. The same goes for the shifter, with a traditional lever replaced by a set of buttons. A pair of large shift paddles are mounted to the back of the square steering wheel. 

The idea of a mid-engine Corvette is far from new. There have been concepts and prototypes over the decades, the most famous being the third Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle, better known as the Corvette CERV III. This sleek mid-engine coupe debuted in the middle of the C4 generation and featured things like four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and a twin-turbocharged version of the LT5 from the original Corvette ZR1. 

More details are coming, but we’ll still have to wait a bit before we can get behind the wheel. The C7 is already one of the greatest sports cars of its generation. We’re hoping the same can be said of the new C8.