Tourbillon
Cornering Kingpin
If the future has SUVs this interesting and desirable, we want to go there now!
www.caranddriver.com
BY DAVID BEARD PUBLISHED: APR 12, 2023
From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.
After decades of epic sports-car battles between Chevrolet Corvettes and Porsche 911s, Chevy is queuing up a new rivalry against Stuttgart's highest-performing SUVs. Rather than expend resources to designate a new lineup of high-test sport-utility vehicles, Chevrolet will call its subbrand a name synonymous with performance: Corvette.
It's shocking General Motors took this long to add a true performance SUV to one of its model lines. After all, Porsche's high-roof five-seaters—the Macan and Cayenne—continue to be its bestsellers year after year. Their high profit margins fund insanity such as the 718 GT4 RS and the 911 GT3 RS.
Remove any previous expectations that the Corvette SUV will be electrified, at least not at first. The SUV will be built on the celebrated Alpha platform that underpins the Camaro and the spectacular Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings. The platform alone suggests the Corvette SUV will be both entertaining to drive and potentially sold in two sizes. Again, think Macan and Cayenne.
The Alpha platform allows access to GM's vast powertrain catalog. If Chevy builds a Macan competitor, we'd expect a 300-plus-hp turbo four to serve as the base engine and a twin-turbo V-6 with 400 or so horsepower at the top. To challenge the Cayenne, the larger SUV will get that twin-turbo V-6, while the nearly 500-hp 6.2-liter V-8 will belt out its American song in the higher trims. Expect the Vette SUV to come standard with all-wheel drive and a 10-speed automatic across the board, with magnetorheological dampers an optional extra.
At the top of the Corvette SUV lineup is where things should get very interesting. After the initial launch, and to no one's surprise, the SUV will receive the Z0-something treatment to put the most exotic utility vehicles directly in Chevrolet's crosshairs. The Cadillac Escalade V's supercharged 682-hp 6.2-liter V-8 should do it, along with carbon-ceramic brakes and tires as wide as the Mississippi. All of this while still undercutting the competition by tens of thousands of dollars.
We expect Chevy to reveal the Corvette SUV later this year and for it to arrive at dealerships in the latter half of 2024 with a starting price of around $60,000."
www.motortrend.com
So it looks likely (albiet obviously General Motors has as yet not officially declared anything) a Corvette SUV is in the actual works! When Ford used the Mustang badge for the Mach-E, atleast in terms applicable to the United States of America but overseas too then it created a niche that I guess they were helpless to exploit!
Anyway you decide, Car and Driver Magazine aren't usually used to flights of fancy.
I've included a Motortrend link from December 2022 and a video based on that. It's for guidance only. The renders are a little wild!
2025 Corvette SUV Will Fight the Porsche Cayenne with up to 682 HP
If the future has SUVs this interesting and desirable, we want to go there now.
BY DAVID BEARD PUBLISHED: APR 12, 2023
From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.
After decades of epic sports-car battles between Chevrolet Corvettes and Porsche 911s, Chevy is queuing up a new rivalry against Stuttgart's highest-performing SUVs. Rather than expend resources to designate a new lineup of high-test sport-utility vehicles, Chevrolet will call its subbrand a name synonymous with performance: Corvette.
It's shocking General Motors took this long to add a true performance SUV to one of its model lines. After all, Porsche's high-roof five-seaters—the Macan and Cayenne—continue to be its bestsellers year after year. Their high profit margins fund insanity such as the 718 GT4 RS and the 911 GT3 RS.
Remove any previous expectations that the Corvette SUV will be electrified, at least not at first. The SUV will be built on the celebrated Alpha platform that underpins the Camaro and the spectacular Cadillac CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwings. The platform alone suggests the Corvette SUV will be both entertaining to drive and potentially sold in two sizes. Again, think Macan and Cayenne.
The Alpha platform allows access to GM's vast powertrain catalog. If Chevy builds a Macan competitor, we'd expect a 300-plus-hp turbo four to serve as the base engine and a twin-turbo V-6 with 400 or so horsepower at the top. To challenge the Cayenne, the larger SUV will get that twin-turbo V-6, while the nearly 500-hp 6.2-liter V-8 will belt out its American song in the higher trims. Expect the Vette SUV to come standard with all-wheel drive and a 10-speed automatic across the board, with magnetorheological dampers an optional extra.
At the top of the Corvette SUV lineup is where things should get very interesting. After the initial launch, and to no one's surprise, the SUV will receive the Z0-something treatment to put the most exotic utility vehicles directly in Chevrolet's crosshairs. The Cadillac Escalade V's supercharged 682-hp 6.2-liter V-8 should do it, along with carbon-ceramic brakes and tires as wide as the Mississippi. All of this while still undercutting the competition by tens of thousands of dollars.
We expect Chevy to reveal the Corvette SUV later this year and for it to arrive at dealerships in the latter half of 2024 with a starting price of around $60,000."
2025 Corvette ZUV: What Could a Corvette SUV Look Like—According to AI?
Some of these artificial intelligence–generated designs are kind of feasible.
So it looks likely (albiet obviously General Motors has as yet not officially declared anything) a Corvette SUV is in the actual works! When Ford used the Mustang badge for the Mach-E, atleast in terms applicable to the United States of America but overseas too then it created a niche that I guess they were helpless to exploit!
Anyway you decide, Car and Driver Magazine aren't usually used to flights of fancy.
I've included a Motortrend link from December 2022 and a video based on that. It's for guidance only. The renders are a little wild!
