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[Press] Caught! Corvette C6 prototypes spied testing

(00:01 May 05, 2003)
Caught! Corvette C6 prototypes spied testing


By WES RAYNAL

CAN YOU FEEL IT?

The buzz? It’s building: In eight months Chevrolet will finally unveil the next-generation, 2005 Corvette at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, before it is launched in fall 2004. Between now and then, the C6 rumors and hype and anticipation will no doubt reach feverish levels (in plenty of circles it already has).

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This photo illustration combines the spy shots with information from design sources. The new car has a few more edges to it than does the C5, and what insiders call “Viper-like” headlights.



And now we have the exclusive photos to go with it.

We’ve been chasing C6—the sixth-generation Corvette—information for months. Ace spy photographer Jim Dunne finally caught up with four “Beta” prototypes near Brighton, Michigan. Despite the camouflage on the nose, tail and part of the front quarter-panel, the pictures are revealing, with the doors and its entire greenhouse in the clear.

This new Corvette’s overall length is slightly shorter than the C5’s 179.7 inches, and the C6 will share the Cadillac XLR’s 105.7-inch wheelbase, 1.2 inches longer than that of the C5.

Though the look isn’t a huge departure from the C5, the C6’s overall shape is edgier, the nose more blunt and the windshield more upright. The C6’s rear end is more tapered than the C5’s—that should please most Corvette fans, though those who favor a radical restyle won’t be too excited.



The windshield is not as steeply raked as it is on the C5. Under the skin, the C6 shares a chassis and some electronics with the Cadillac XLR. Design sources said the C6’s fixed headlamps (the first seen on a Corvette since the 1962 model) are intended to reduce wind noise and help lower the car’s coefficient of drag. Headlights will not be hidden, the flaps seen here serve as camouflage and to expose the lights as necessary. A Nissan 350Z was being used for comparisons. (Photo © 2003 Jim Dunne/Popular Mechanics)

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This new Corvette’s headlights are fixed units, not hideaways, for the first time since the Sting Ray of 1963. The reason is for aerodynamic advantages and to reduce wind noise. “Those [exposed headlights] will be debated ’til the cows come home,” a GM design source said.

C6 will share the XLR’s hydroformed frame rails and its magnesium, aluminum and high-strength steel cockpit structure. The body panels are made of SMC, the same plastic as the current body.

We’re told cutting weight was critical to GM engineers this time around, and the C6 should weigh in the 3100-pound range, about the same as a C5, and less than a Nissan 350Z, one of which was seen traveling with the group of prototypes Dunne photographed.



The fender tops have a sharper fold in them than in the rounded C5, but the shape is more evolutionary than revolutionary. This convertible was running with the coupes. (Photo © 2003 Jim Dunne/Popular Mechanics)
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Most sources tell us the base model’s 5.7-liter V8 will produce more than today’s Z06, which makes 405 hp. Call it 410 to 425 hp.

There’s a next-generation Z06 engine under way as well. That engine’s displacement and horsepower figures are still being determined, a source said, while powertrain engineers sort out compatibility with the transmission—expect more displacement, torque and power when the Z06 comes out a year after the first C6s are launched. Stronger brakes are expected as well.

The C6 also will share Magnasteer, StabiliTrak active handling and magnetic ride control with the XLR.

Software engineers will be just as important as mechanical engineers in the distinction between the XLR and C6: The Corvette’s steering and suspension will be tuned much more toward performance than is the XLR’s.

5c6d.jpg


New door handles are similar to those on the Cadillac XLR, which is being built alongside Corvettes in the Bowling Green factory. Disguises cover the fender vents. The car’s overall length should be slightly shorter than the C5’s, though the wheelbase is just more than one inch longer. The coupe’s rear glass is longer than the C5’s, stretching almost all the way to the back of the car. (Photo © 2003 Jim Dunne/Popular Mechanics)


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5c6f.jpg



These spy photos show that the C6 will use an exhaust system (above) similar to the C5’s. The rear glass (left and below left) is slightly longer and has an edge in it, extended from the rooftop shape. The taillights are hidden by the disguise, but we’re told they are more circular than the oval ones found on C5. (Photo © 2003 Jim Dunne/Popular Mechanics)
 
No!

It looks almost like a C-5 exactly!! Boy am I disappointed... I hope this is just a trick gm played on us.. I see very few different things on it then the C-5.... almost looks not even like a c-5 and a half.. c-5 and a quarter I'll call it.. unless the performance figures are amazing.. I'll just look forward to a used C-5 in the future.. much better looking I think..

-Tatortot
 
BI,

Do I see some indents in the roof leading to the rear glass? Is this camo? What's the desired look of the indents?
 
I just got it!! There IS camo there. The leading edge of the rear glass on the coupe will meet the top and side glass. No more body color above the door lines!!
 
I hope those indents aren't for T-Tops. I really prefer the Targa style tops.

Also, the vertical door handles don't sound very appealing. It will make closing the doors without leaving prints more difficult.

Its not bad, but I really like the curves of the C5. I'm not real big on the new "edgy" look of the new vehicles.

Thanks for posting the article in full Rob!
 
I think they were just trying to make the roof look like T Tops here. The bubble effect of the C6 roof is more exagrerated then on C5. This was no accident folks Looks like GM wants to start leaking pics of C6. Its's SUPRISINGLY un covered. This is one of the cars that was at the plant but with MUCH LESS Cammo on it. Note the shape of the doors there like this \......../ I kinda thought they looked weird when I saw it.
 
Before everyone starts slamming this prototype, stop.

Let rationality take control: this is a heavily disguised prototype which does look almost EXACTLY like a C5.

Now, stop and think of some of the facts we've heard over the last couple of years:

1. slightly smaller
2. a little less front and rear overhang
3. evolutionary - not revolutionary
4. may incorporate slight styling cues from the C3 generation

Now take another look at the photos....you're not going to see anything drastic like we did from the C4 to the C5 because again, the overall design has not changed as drastically as it did when from C4 to C5. Therefore, it's probably very easy to use a lot of the current C5 production body components to build the C6 prototypes.

Basically, my opinion holds fast: I'm not impressed. When I say that I'm not impressed, I don't mean I'm not impressed by what the C6 will probably look like. What I mean is that I'm not impressed with these photos, like all the others I've seen (other than jujubee's photoshop work) in their ability to portray what the C6 will look like.

To me, they look like nothing more than a C5 convertible with some plastic coverings and some interesting plastic pieces tacked on for camoflage. Basically, it looks just like the C5 prototypes we saw back in 1996. :L
 
The butt is smaller really notice how it TAPERS in tighter. The cammo on the rear makes it look bigger. Also the exaust cut out is higher and larger. Again this is why I have been saying C5.5 and NOT really C6.
 
csbacchus said:
I hope those indents aren't for T-Tops. I really prefer the Targa style tops.

Also, the vertical door handles don't sound very appealing. It will make closing the doors without leaving prints more difficult.

Its not bad, but I really like the curves of the C5. I'm not real big on the new "edgy" look of the new vehicles.

Thanks for posting the article in full Rob!

Keep one thing in mind when it comes to t-tops vs. a targa top: when you take out that center beam in the roof, you're taking away a major hunk of structural integrity.

That was the biggest problem with the C4. If I'm correct, I believe the C4 was originally designed to be a T-top. However, Lloyd Reuss, or some other GM manager in the upper crust of the corporation wanted the C4 to be like the Ferrari 308. He made Dave McLellan and his engineers remove that center beam against their better judgement. As a result, they had to reinforce the frame rails making them higher which is why it's a royal pain in the butt to get in and out of a C4.

Even still the C4's chassis goes into convulsions when it drives over a pebble in the road.

The C5 used new hydroformed frame rails which were much stiffer and capable of eliminating a lot of the chassis flex you feel in a C4.

If Corvette engineers are weighing heavily on making the new C6 an all out performance car, I wouldn't be surprised to see the reappearance of that center t-roof beam with t-tops. After all, T-tops were a C3 design cue! :D :D ;)

Now....on the other hand, it's also possible that because of hydroformed rail technology, structural integrity isn't really an issue and what appears in the C6 prototype photos above, is a more pronounced double bubble roof effect with a one piece roof panel. Who knows.....we'll just have to wait till GM officially unveils it. :D
 
I don't want the Butt to get much smaller. When my wife and I drove our 2002 Convert to Florida last January we enjoyed a luxurious amount of trunk space for our luggage. I have had C-2, C-3, C-4 & C-5 Vettes and I love the trunk. Look at the rear of a Testarossa... and it doesn't even have a trunk there.
:beer
Thanks for the spyshots Black Ice.
 
No loss in trunk space Rocket, just a little liposuction! :D I see your driving C6 there already!
 
Its really nice looking in person BUT the front has a bit of a JAG look don't ya think? Mind you now that Photoshop Pic of AutoWeeks is good but still not EXACT folks. Its got to much overhang!
 
Rob,
I was under the impression that the current chassis made structural integrity issues pretty much nonexistent.
I know I read or heard one of the engineers speaking about this in regards to the verts having no more flex than a coupe without adding reinforcements and increasing weight.

Therefore, I assumed, possibly wrongly so, that T-Tops would be more of a cosmetic change rather than a functional one.

These shots aren't bad and it looks good, but I really like the smooooth look of the C5 where all the edges are rolled, but then again I also like the big butt on it!

Are there any photoshop guys here that can mask the white background on the enhanced photo/impression shot and gives us a little more contrast?

Can't wait to :Steer one! Regardless of looks.
 
Black Ice said:
Its really nice looking in person BUT the front has a bit of a JAG look don't ya think?

I agree, it does look like a Jag.

Pops always wanted a Jag, maybe this will change his mind.;)

Black Ice, Did you say "in person"? I'm a noob so I haven't been around long enough to know any background. If so, how accurate are these shots?
 
Very accurate except of course minor details. But the front is slightly different in person because everyone keeps making the nose to long in there Photoshop versions. ALSO notice the back up lights on both sides of the exaust opening Ala Grand Am.
 
thanks for the post,now i can feel the buzz building for the c7,i will no doubt be keeping my c5 for a long time,a whole nother generation to be exact.im sure there will be people who like it-as much as i dont,i was expecting a more radical body change.later,Todd.c5 forever.
 
The big Buzz around the plant was people were saying Who says the Camaro is dead!!! ??
 
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