Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Crashes at Virginia International Raceway
Mid-Engine C8 Corvette Crashes at Virginia International Raceway
Powerful engines causing bent frames and now a crash at VIR, does the mid-engine C8 Corvette need more development time?
There is, perhaps, no car, in the history of the automobile, that has had more rumors surrounding it than the impending mid-engine Corvette. Over 50 years worth of sketches, concepts, and test vehicles have led to the C8 Corvette actually making the switch from front-mid-engine to a true mid-engine powertrain layout.
Of course, that extra long gestation period means that any and all news is fair game, for better or worse. We have seen reports that the new family of V8 engines, twin-turbocharged or otherwise, are so powerful that they are literally twisting and bending the C8 chassis. Then there were supposed electrical gremlins as Chevrolet attempts to transition all of their new products over to a new “Global B” electrical architecture. And, now, the inevitable has happened: A C8 Corvette has been crashed, rather violently, at Virginia International Raceway.
This latest report comes from Corvette Forum member Tool Hoarder, who is an instructor at the famed race circuit. According to him:
I was instructing at VIR this weekend. Thursday an email was sent delaying any entry into the paddock until 7:30 PM at the earliest which is a good bit later than normal. Event organizers apologized explaining that their hands were tied with a private “high security” track rental. Chatter in the paddock this weekend was that Chevy was there testing the TT C8 and that one crashed which caused the delay in them wrapping up and leaving on time. This was confirmed to me by a source I won’t give any details on.
Someone needs to get a drone on stand-by in Danville
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Think they’re lying? Well, think again, because another forum member, bbc=540, who is local to VIR followed up with this report:
I hate to say it but this does fall in line with the fact that I saw at least 6, possibly 7, C8’s pass my house on the morning of 3/22 as I had previously posted. And when I saw them later that same evening, there were only 5 in the group.
Still not convinced? No problem, the original poster comes back with images of shattered C8 components, still covered in test car camouflage, that had been recovered from the circuit by track marshals. Buckle up, everyone, this thread only gets better.
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The thread later goes on to speculate about this pack of C8 test mules driving around, because, according to several forum members, one of those cars was notably louder than the rest. This leads people to assume that while the standard base model C8 may be near completion, the test car involved in the accident may well have been a more hardcore Z06 model set to follow in 2021.
The thread is filled with insights into many of the C8 test cars that have been spotted all over the world, so be sure to check out the thread. Then, let us know, what do you think actually happened, and what in the world is going on with the mid-engine Corvette?
