Electric Chevrolet Corvette C9 teased! First of three concepts previews next-gen GM supercar and it could go EV
General Motors has celebrated the opening of its new British design studio by giving us our first look at a wild new concept that’s been tipped to preview the all-new 2028 Chevrolet Corvette C9 that will be on sale in little more than two years.
The big news is the hypercar-hunting Chevrolet Corvette C9 is hotly tipped to ditch the V8 and embrace an all-electric powertrain that will feature GM’s next-generation EV tech.
The new Corvette was styled under the supervision of former head of Jaguar design, Julian Thomson, who also set-up the new advanced studio for the US brand in Leamington Spa in the UK.
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During his four decades of designing cars Thomson has been credited with penning the original Lotus Elise and Range Rover Evoque, as well as the wild Jaguar C-X75 concept while working for Jaguar Land Rover.
If you’re wondering why GM has opened a British design studio, it’s because the American car giant wants to create cars that are more appealing to European tastes.
GM has already greenlit both the Cadillac Lyriq and current Chevrolet Corvette C8 in right-hand drive for the UK, Japan and Australia.
Created by a 30-strong team, GM said the new Corvette concept was driven by the desire to “completely rethink the Corvette nameplate, pushing the boundaries of design and technology”.
In the flesh, the new Corvette looks more hypercar than supercar.
Forecasting what a Corvette would look like in 10 or 20 years, the new C9 concept measures up at 4669mm long but stands just 1033mm tall.
With plenty of nods to Corvettes of the past, the full composite body is smooth and elegant while beneath the skin the two-seat coupe seems heavily inspired by the Aston Martin Valkyrie when it comes to extreme underbody aero.
Typical Corvette elements include peaked fenders from the 1965 Mako Shark Concept that previewed the 1968 C3 production car, a visor-shaped front screen and a pair of split windows that harks back to the iconic C2 ’Vette.
More elements that signpost the Valkyrie include a pair of gullwing doors to access the cabin, a yoke steering wheel and a stripped-out cabin that hints at extreme weight-saving.
Overseeing the opening of the new British design studio has been Holden legend, Melbourne-born Michael Simcoe, who’s now GM’s senior vice president of design.
“As part of the Corvette creative study, we asked multiple studios to develop hypercar concepts, which we’ll see more of later this year,” said Simcoe.
“It was important that they all pay homage to Corvette’s historic DNA, but each studio brought their own unique creative interpretation to the project. That is exactly what our advanced design studio network is intended to do – push the envelope, challenge convention and imagine what could be.”
GM says it will unwrap another two concepts from other design studios around the world, including a new driveable concept that will be unleashed at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.
It’s thought as well as all-electric power Chevrolet might evolve the current C8’s E-Ray V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain that blends 481kW of power and a 72km all-electric range.
