Chevy's California Corvette Concept Makes the ZR1X Look Tame

The Drive

4 days ago

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For every generation of the Corvette, there's been a futuristic concept or three demonstrating where GM might take its flagship if there were no limits. There was the original Stingray Racer concept that previewed the revolutionary C2; the rotary-powered experiments and far-flung Astro design studies of the '70s and, my personal favorite, the 1986 Corvette Indy that recast Chevy's icon as a true, world-beating, mid-engine hypercar.
Lately, GM's designers have once again started using the Vette as the canvas for their imagination. Now, a few months after that stunning U.K.-led design study, we have this California Corvette Concept, created by GM's Advanced Design Studio in Pasadena, which opened its doors just last year.
Straight away, it should be said that this isn't representative of any production-intent design, and it's certainly a very different interpretation of the Corvette from the Brits' take on things. That concept, clad in white and silver with a split windshield and rear window as a nod to the past, was purposeful, yet clinical, not unlike a McLaren or some other high-dollar track toy from across the pond. This Cali concept has similar proportions, with its rear wheels pushed to the absolute corners and hips cinched near the engine bay, but that's about all it shares in common. Look closely, and you'll see a little 'C10' logo right behind the front wheel. In a perfect world, this would be the Corvette after the next Corvette. GM Design
This is a warmer, silkier design; a hypercar that's no less aggressive, but seemingly bred more for the streets of today than Cyberpunk 2077's Night City. In that way, it's more Corvette. The curvy haunches and canopy smoothed like a pebble by water align it with the Corvette Indy and—in the words of Brian Smith, the Pasadena studio's design director—Southern California as a whole.
'We wanted to ensure that this concept was developed through that SoCal lens, but with a global and futuristic outlook,' Smith is quoted in GM's press release. 'Duality of purpose is the basis of this concept's design strategy. The defining design aspect is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy that enables the entire upper shell to be removed, transforming the concept from an agile, slick sports car to a lightweight, open-air track car.' GM Design
All the exterior renderings show the California Corvette with its lid on, but the interior sketches provide a better idea of what Smith is referring to. This study isn't a running, working vehicle, of course, though if it were , it'd be an electric vehicle powered by a 'T-shape prismatic battery pack.' Much like the possibility of an actual Corvette EV in the near term, this design exercise is ultimately a work of 'science fiction.'
Still, in a world where GM finally committed, did the dang thing and put the Corvette's engine where Zora always knew it belonged (they goofed on the ZR1X's name, I'm sorry), maybe something like this Cali concept isn't so outlandish, in the grand scheme of things. According to GM, we're due for one more dream Vette before the year is out, and we're looking forward to it. Spy the Chevrolet Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept in the Pasadena studio, made for Gran Turismo 6 . We wouldn't mind seeing this California Corvette turn up in GT7 . GM Design
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