Chip Foose’s C8 Corvette Illustration Brings Back Its Heritage

Though the C8 Corvette is a revolutionary leap, for some, it’s a bridge too far. Chip Foose uses his art to create the C8’s missing link.

The C8 Corvette’s garnered plenty of fans since it first arrived on the scene in 2019. A lot of them are newer, younger fans are drawn not only to the placement of the LT2 V8, but the design language such placement demands. The eighth-gen’s appearance is a revolutionary leap, aimed at continuing the ‘Vette’s legacy into its next decade, and beyond.

For some, though, the C8 Corvette’s new look is a bridge too far. Forget the comparisons to Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Some fans just wonder why the new ‘Vette was so quick to shed its heritage. Famed designer Chip Foose is among those torn about the C8. Recently, Hagerty asked him what he would’ve done if he were in the GM design studio.

“Ever since the debut of the Corvette in 1953, it has been the iconic American sports car,” said Foose. “There have been rumors, show cars, talk about going mid-engine forever. But they finally did it. The engine is right there in the middle of the car now.”

However, Foose is on the fence about the C8 Corvette, mainly because he believed the ‘Vette overall had one of the best evolutions in design. The leap taken by the Corvette team blew Foose’s mind, to say the least.

“As I mentioned, the Corvette had an evolution in its design that you could follow from the C1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, all the way to 7,” said Foose. “It was a long nose, short rear, a beautiful car that just kept getting refined. All of sudden, the proportions and the layout completely change. Also, the design language was a complete departure.”

In short, Foose believes the C8 Corvette left a lot of its heritage on the drawing table. For him, this heritage allowed anyone to know what a Corvette was. The C8, however, may look like an NSX, a Ferrari, “or some other supercar.”

Thus, Foose breaks out his tools to keep the engine behind the cabin in his C8 Corvette, but transform the exterior into the missing link between the C7 and the actual C8. A few sketches later, he has his ‘Vette. The front and rear fenders pull from the C2 Era, while the air intake is the inverse of the C7’s air extractor. The roofline and headlights also echo the C7. Foose completes the masterpiece with a staggered wheel/tire arrangement, and a coat of Sebring Orange.

“It’s a quick, loose sketch,” said Foose, “but I think this carries a little more of the Corvette design language than the C8 does.”

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