GM’s Mark Reuss says C7 Corvette will be “Completely Different”

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: despite the fact that GM has all but unabashedly pledged the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette won’t resort to a mid-engine layout, British publication Autocar recently stoked the fire once again, thus reviving a rumor that’s nearly four decades in the making.

A report from British magazine Autocar got a quote from a GM’s North American honcho Mark Reuss that the C7 Corvette would be “completely different” from the current generation, leading them to speculate that the Vette would be moving to a mid-engine layout. However, Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter has staunchly defended the C6 Corvette’s front-mounted engineering.
What the report out of the U.K. may have nailed on the head, though, is the possibility of a smaller powertrain for the C7. It has long been rumored that the next Corvette will offer a V-8 engine, but will also offer a smaller, forced-induction V-6. A smaller engine would help to broaden the appeal of the Corvette internationally, while simultaneously curtailing both emissions and fuel consumption. One possibility is a twin-turbocharged form of GM’s direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6, an engine we first heard rumors of early last year.
Although the C7 won’t be an exact clone of the 2009 Corvette Stingray/ Centennial concept, it will incorporate a number of design cues shown on the stunning show car. Perhaps most notable will be the return of the split rear window(previously used only on the ’63 Corvette), which has been hinted at occasionally by Ed Welburn, GM’s vice president of design. Welburn has also promised a “world-class” interior to replace the depressingly dour cockpit of the current Corvette.
So, when can we see the finished product? All signs point to soon — and by soon, we mean no sooner than 2013 (a 2012 C6, which incorporates some minor upgrades, has already been announced). GM recently announced a $131 million investment in its Bowling Green, Kentucky assembly plant, and described the investment as a catalyst to retool the plant to build the all-new Corvette.