I am not a huge fan of Corvette or GM in general... but I think Corvettes are OK, and good at being what they are. Usually my preferences lead me elsewhere, though.
C1 was one of the coolest looking 50s cars, but arguably a bit different sort of car than what came after them. The C2 is revered as one of the most innovative and original sports car designs ever, the C3 was gorgeously curvaceous, C4 was clean and sleek as an ‘80s wedge.
C5 lost it’s way, and I pretty much agree with Chips’ comments on the C5, and you should click play on the video for multiple reasons.
C6 cleaned up the exterior design, and Grand Sport may be the best modern OEM Corvette design. C7 swung too far the other way from C5 and got way too angular and over-styled, trying to chase the likes of Nissan GTR, although C7 probably improved the interior more than it’s predecessors.
I think the mid-engine move is a good one, but the C8 is still too over-styled, and out of my price range. C8.2 or C9 with a cleaner, smoother exterior design in the future, and feedback from whether the new C8 interior works as good as it looks, a future stock Corvette could be truly great, inside, out, and underneath.
But C5 in stock form, while a good mechanical platform, at an amazing used price about now, is a fairly LARGE aesthetic let-down, and I don’t think it has aged particularly well. I would spend as much or more on a used Porsche, rather than a C5 Corvette.
Then Chip did this.
I should not be surprised, considering what he has a history of doing, including his recent retro-modern Mustang, and Jaguar E-type... and a lot more before that.
I would own a C5-based Foose-designed speedster over a Porsche. That’s HUGE for me, considering how much I like rarer flat 6 OHC engines rather than ubiquitous pushrod V8s that are everywhere, mid-engine or rear engine geometry and physics rather than front-heavy muscle cars, and Porsche’s clean and evolution-refined designs, rather than just bold and brash.
Chip talks about not replicating designs, and bespoke designing each new opportunity for each customer... but in this case, he should license this design to someone who makes fiberglass Corvette re-body kits, and sell these as parts or turn-key for C5 donors. This design is too good to leave it as a drawing or only one example.
But a speedster like that... is achingly gorgeous, and still mechanically quite good underneath... It looks so good, you want to get out and drive it just to see it in the sunlight, rather than going out and looking at it in the garage. A car like that would be an art object that could not be ignored. I am not talking about being an attention getter from other people, which of course it would do... I am talking about appreciating it as its’ owner.
This was a quick sketch, and there would be options for a bit more development... but I can imagine a modernized version of the early C3 nose, a tapered and beveled rear tail light panel above, and a diffuser below the bumper area of the rear fascia, and a C2-like longitudinal center ridge line like the 1963 C2 and the Bugatti Chiron. with a symmetrical design on either side, front the front grilles, heat extractors, interior ‘cockpit’ seating, roll bars and aero fairings, and Chip’s very interesting dual wings on the back, above presumably dual round tail lights behind them... and dual or quad central exhaust.
Chip indicated the wheels without specifying them, I would love to see modernized wheels that update the late C3 slotted aluminum wheels, and the early C4 turbine-vane wheels... with some dramatic concave surfacing.
I haven’t mentioned mechanicals or drivetrain... because baseline is not really a problem... and the car would be great with a stock drivetrain. However, if I really wanted to make a statement... I would make this a speedster successor to the ‘70s AeroVette concept, and put a 3-rotor turbo engine in it...
For the 2020 era... hybrid tech for electric low-end torque for stop-and-go, reverse, and combined burst performance. An electric motor/generator/starter mounted to the rotary engine, and two output drive motors on the rear transaxle for torque vectoring, a Koenigsegg Regera-style torque mixing coupling between the two, and a Supercapacitor or a bit of batteries behind the seats.
Compared to wanting this... I have never really wanted a Corvette before.