As rumors continue to swirl of new variants of historic sports cars, one that isn’t apparently happening now is the Corvette SUV or EV.
Oh, how the world has changed in just a few short years. Not that long ago, we saw rumors far and wide of a cornucopia of Corvettes. Not just a robust sports car lineup from the Stingray to the ZR1 and hybrid ZR1X, but completely reimagined examples of what it means to be a “Corvette”. The first port of call, as Ford did with the Mustang Mach-E, was supposedly an SUV. Then there might even be an electric version. Well, fast forward a bit, and a new report from GM Authority pours a bucket of cold water on GM expanding the Chevrolet Corvette lineup.
Did you hear that? Those are the widespread sighs of relief among Corvette enthusiasts, at least from a few years of perusing social media and forum comments.
Now, it’s worth noting General Motors never did officially confirm such Corvette models were in development. The automaker has also not provided a statement that the project is now cancelled, either. In fact, things on the Corvette “family” front have been quiet for a little while, and this report sheds some potential light on why that was. Softer EV demand could be a driving factor behind the automaker’s decision not to go ahead with more Corvettes after all.
The other, and perhaps the more impactful in terms of weighing this decision, is the Corvette community itself. As much fervor surrounded GM’s decision to redesign the C8 into a mid-engined sports car, it’s one that has ultimately played well as this generation carries on. Folks are excited about the next chapter, the C9, and what could come of it. A Corvette SUV? Not so much. At least, not a performance SUV that wears that name.
With its recent LS6 redesign, we’re looking at the new Corvette Stingray, Grand Sport and Grand Sport X as swan songs of the current lineup. Eventually, GM will move on from this Corvette to the next, and we will get some insight into what that will look like here in the next year or two, most likely. With this latest report, though, it seems the brand will retain its status as one of America’s flagship sports cars, and it won’t have to do the remarkably heavy lifting of, say, a performance SUV or a full battery-electric model.
