- Chevrolet has released two design studies that could show the ninth-generation Corvette
The next generation of America’s sports car could look like an exotic car from a science fiction show set in the 22nd century.
Chevrolet has released the second in a series of concept cars showing what the ninth-generation Corvette could look like. A concept car is a design study meant to show what a future car might look like, but they rarely reach production without major changes.
The designs are part of “a global design project involving multiple studios that will see additional Corvette concepts revealed throughout 2025,” parent company General Motors says.
They’ll inform the next Corvette. GM hasn’t said when the next generation of its flagship sports car will appear. But the current, eighth-generation model is entering its sixth model year in 2026. The seventh-generation Corvette lasted six model years. The sixth lasted nine, so a longer run is possible.
Neither of the concepts is likely to be the finished C9 Corvette. But, together, they show the direction Chevrolet designers are considering as they sketch out their options.
Chevrolet took a radical step with the C8 Corvette, moving to an exotic-car-style mid-engine platform. Some purists objected, but the car quickly proved its worth, posting performance numbers similar to those of more expensive supercars from Ferrari and Lamborghini at a fraction of their price.
The U.K. Proposal
- A hyper-modern homage to the 1963 split-window Sting Ray
The first concept car came from a new U.K. design studio opened in April.
Its upper half, GM says, “captures the Corvette’s classic design elements, but in a futuristic manner. The lower half focuses on functional technical design, including EV [electric vehicle] battery technology embedded into the structure and aerodynamics elements designed to channel air efficiently without the need for wings or spoilers.”
It pays homage to the classic split window of the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray, this time moving the window pillar to the front.
Designers released no mechanical details.
The California Proposal
- A low-slung electric hypercar with a T-shaped battery cell
This week, a second GM design studio released its Corvette concept. The California Corvette concept comes from the company’s Pasadena Advanced Design Studio.
Brian Smith, the study’s design director, explains, “The defining design aspect is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy than enables the entire upper shell to be removed, transforming the concept from an agile, slick sports car to a lightweight, open-air track car.”
Also electric, it would use a T-shaped battery, allowing engineers to place the seats low to the road.
GM says at least one more concept is coming.
