- Chevrolet has released two concept cars meant to show possible design directions for the next Corvette
- The pair, not intended for production, use fighter-jet-style cockpits and banned racing technology
Chevrolet has begun to imagine the next Corvette, and imagination has taken designers to some wild places. Two new design concepts, unveiled at California’s Monterey Car Week, take inspiration from fighter jets and race cars so fast that they were banned from competition.
Chevrolet is clear that these two are “not intended for production,” but says “the pair will serve as inspiration to inform Corvette design language for years to come.”
Fuel for Inspiration
- Chevrolet hasn’t said when the next-generation Corvette will appear
- These are the last two of four designs meant to inspire the future
The Corvette in showrooms today is the eighth generation of the iconic sports car. It enters its sixth year of production for the 2026 model year.
Chevrolet hasn’t said when the ninth generation — what enthusiasts call the C9 Corvette — will appear. We expect it sometime between 2027 and 2029, as the seventh-generation model lasted six years and the previous model lasted nine.
To prepare the public (and its designers), Chevrolet has released a series of concept cars designed to inspire the next generation.
One pair appeared last month. Both electric hypercars, one used a gull-wing design and another used a T-shaped battery that allowed for a low-slung cabin with driver and passenger beside, not on top of, the cell.
These two, called the Corvette CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo, complete that process.
An EV and a Complex Hybrid, With Vacuum Downforce
- The road-going model is all-electric, the racing version a hybrid
- Both use vacuum fan systems to generate downforce
These two are riffs on the same idea. The CX is meant to simulate a possible road car. The CX.R imagines a competitive, track-only version for the Corvette Racing team that has achieved remarkable success in endurance racing in recent years.
This duo is full or partly electric, further hinting that the C9 Corvette will likely be electrified. That’s unsurprising to those who pay attention to the rarefied world of exotic cars. EV designs have proven quicker than internal combustion cars in recent years, taking most of the respected records with their instant-torque nature.
The CX uses four motors, one powering each wheel, to generate more than 2,000 horsepower.
The CX.R uses three electric motors and a V8. One electric motor powers each front wheel. The engine powers the rear set, with a third electric motor integrated directly into the 8-speed transmission to boost it. Total system output is, similarly, 2,000 hp.
Both also use a technology from racing legend, banned from the few racing series where it ever appeared. A so-called “active downforce” system uses fans to generate vacuum force that sucks the car to the road. This lets a car take turns with greater speed.
This design is an aerodynamic symphony. Chevy says, “Built-in fans draw air through the open-channel bodywork, generating massive downforce and adjusting the airflow over the rear diffuser to refine aerodynamic balance in real time. The front diffuser and rear wing are both active, adjusting automatically in response to the driver’s inputs to generate maximum grip.”
Corvette Cues but a Clamshell Cockpit
- Beltline creases and four-part taillights are classic Corvette cues
- A clamshell cockpit is a classic fighter jet cue
To connect the designs to its heritage, Chevrolet says, designers relied on “quintessential Corvette hallmarks.”
These include a “forward-lunging nose,” a sharp crease at the beltline, and “dual-element taillights.”
But the cockpit opens clamshell-style, more like an F-35 than a car.
You Can Drive Them Soon (Virtually)
- Both will appear in the PlayStation game “Gran Tourismo 7”
Concept cars are rarely driven. Some aren’t even functional cars – just design bucks driven around on flatbeds and rolled into place by hand.
But you’ll be able to drive these. Virtually.
Chevrolet says it “will make both the roadgoing CX and the CX.R VGT racecar concepts available for fans to drive virtually” in the “Gran Turismo 7” video game later this month, “giving new and familiar audiences a chance to experience firsthand the future of Corvette design.”
