Holden & Porsche Was Key in C8 Corvette Development
Popular Mechanics shows how a quasi-pickup with a Holden badge and PDK transmission gave us the C8.
Before the C8 Corvette was a reality, it was a crude development mule codenamed “Blackjack.” That’s a fitting name. Blackjack is a form of gambling. And that’s exactly what Chevrolet was doing when it decided to create the first-ever mid-engine Corvette.
According to Popular Mechanics, the C8 development process started way back in 2013. Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and his team couldn’t just add parts and camouflage to an existing car and turn it into a test mule. They had to have a vehicle with its engine in the middle to get an idea of what the C8’s basic structure and suspension geometry would be. Juechter and his crew also needed to keep what they were working on a secret as much as possible so they cobbled together a rig with what Popular Mechanics called “a pugnacious Holden front end grafted to a C7 cabin that leads to the suggestion of a pickup bed.”
The interior was a rough, technical landscape of warnings and labels. At that point, the transmission controls were connected to the PDK dual-clutch transmission out of a Porsche. GM was so serious about keeping the C8 under wraps that they required employees involved in its development to use a swipe card to access a special room in the Advanced Vehicle Integration facility in Warren, Michigan. Corvette Vehicle Performance Manager Alex MacDonald said, “If you talk to people at GM, their memory of this car is that it’s the car nobody would let them see.” They also didn’t want photographers in helicopters to see Blackjack and would race back to a secret garage nicknamed “The Lair” if they sensed eyes in the sky.
Blackjack had several siblings and cousins. Some test vehicles had the same layout as Blackjack, but were closer to what the C8 would eventually be. A 2016 mule had a dry-sump V8, the GM-developed 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and next-generation electrical architecture. Other test cars were just C7s with C8 prototype parts, such as potential steering wheels 3D-printed through a process known as fusion deposition modeling. According to Live Science, that involves a “thermoplastic filament, which is heated to its melting point and then extruded, layer by layer, to create a three dimensional object.”
Eventually, Juechter and co. created their first C8. It was both an accomplishment and a reminder of which things – 400 of them, to be exact – needed to be addressed to make it production-friendly, such as leaving enough hand space in certain areas for Bowling Green plant workers to install various bits of hardware.
Popular Mechanics got the opportunity to drive one of those pre-pre-pre-production C8s. Traction, one of the main reasons Chevy had to switch to a mid-engine configuration, was not an issue, even in the wet. The suspension provided a pleasant ride as well as flat cornering. Juechter said, “It’s 911 performance along with the best attributes of the Boxster and Cayman. And some Lexus refinement thrown in, which might surprise people.” Corvette fans will be able to judge for themselves when the C8 Corvette hits dealerships early next year.
Photos: Popular Mechanics
Join the LS1Tech.com forums now!
