More Mid-Engine Corvette Leaks Seem to Confirm Turbocharged Engine

This time we get a glimpse of the Gen6 LT7 engine, and some of the rear suspension and bodywork found on what we believe to be the upcoming mid-engine Corvette. 

Last week we reported that some potential mid-engine Corvette CAD designs had been leaked to this very forum, and we’ll be darned if ‘ZERV’ isn’t back at it again, posting another leaked image (above) for members of Corvette Forum to see. Keep an eye on the thread, because that same user posted another image of the engine, apparently of the throttle body area, at 4 o’clock this morning, and nobody managed to nab a screen capture of that one.

The image we did manage to get, saved by CF Senior Member “WKM“, appears to be from the same batch of cell-phone grabs from a computer screen. To the left you can see what can only be a turbocharger hanging off the side of the engine, with the ‘hot-side’ of the turbo hidden behind heat shields. We’ve already seen the name “LT7” thrown around a bit, and expected it to be something really cool, but a factory turbocharged Corvette was always considered beyond the realm of possibility. The move from supercharged to turbocharged tech will be an interesting one. This will, of course, be reserved for a top Z06 or ZR1 model (or perhaps something with new nomenclature), as we expect the base C8 Corvette to remain naturally aspirated.

To the right you can see a better glimpse of the new car’s rear suspension, and for the first time, a bit of bodywork. Something in the rear quarter, perhaps an oil cooler, has a dedicated vent out the back panel right below the tail lamp opening. The suspension is clearly a double-wishbone coil-on-spring setup, meaning Corvette’s signature transverse leaf spring is now gone. At the very bottom of the image appears to be a factory-fitted diffuser panel to provide a good bit of downforce, in addition to the expected rear-mounted spoiler.

Of the image that we don’t get to see, a few members spotted it early this morning and made a few comments. Perhaps you can intimate what the image was from their analysis.

From Quinten33:

Single throttle body, dual air intakes? Is one side for a turbo? And those aren’t mufflers to either side, but catalytic converters. But the cylinder heads look a little small imo, meaning that this may be a pushrod engine.

From NoONe:

Dual injection system. Port and Direct it looks like.

What I cannot figure is the air element looking thing under the TB intake tube.

From f-16pilotTX:

With a intake manifold design like that, I am sure they will have it visible by the use of glass or some other material. Wow, excited stuff! Can’t wait for more! Hmmm, I wonder if the base C8 will actually be an OHC V8 with one (or maybe 2) turbos? Interesting.