Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept Shows Styling Cues for C7 Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept seen at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show and as the Autobot Sideswipe in “Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen” shows some styling cues that may appear on the next generation Corvette.

Tom Peters, designer of the new Camaro and the Stingray concept, drew inspiration from every generation of Corvette when working on the Stingray concept, from the 1959 Corvette Stingray racer concept, to the split rear window found on the ’63 Stingray. He also offers a vision of where Corvette could be headed design-wise.

“It’s not the C7, but that’s not to say there aren’t elements in here that can translate into what the C7’s about,” Peters told Jalopnik editor-in-chief Ray Wert. “There’s no parameters to this concept, our goal, I would tell my team, guys, go kick that car’s butt. Go beat that.”

The interior was designed by Micah Jones to exist in harmony with the exterior of the car. As such, it features a high-tech-looking, dual-cockpit design with sharply, yet elegantly curved aluminum dash trim.

Powering the concept is an innovative powertrain mating hybrid technology with a high-performance V-8 with cylinder deactivation to provide better fuel economy.

Even though “Hybrid Stingray” is prominently displayed under the hood, the powertrain is only a futuristic vision from the design studio, and not a development powertrain. Even though fuel economy standards are getting tougher, don’t expect the C7 to feature a hybrid powertrain. Sources have informed us, however, that a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and direct-injection V-8s are in the works and may debut on the C7.

Source: Jalopnik

Photo Credit: Alex Conley