Why the C8 Corvette spent quality time testing in Germany
If you enjoyed the first behind-the-scenes look at the 2020 Corvette’s development story, sink your teeth into this next installment in Chevrolet’s documentary. Revolution: The Mid-Engine Corvette Development Story debuted with an episode focused on design; the second installment centers on the C8’s engineering.
To study, develop, and refine the mid-engine Corvette’s on-track behavior, the Corvette engineering team set up camp at one of the world’s most famous tracks: the 12.94-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Green Hell is simply unlike any facility in the United States, and it offered Corvette’s test and racing drivers the chance to test the full range of the C8’s on-track abilities. Many C8 owners may not hop the pond to fling their mid-engine baby around the ‘Ring, but refinements that Corvette engineers made based on the on-track feedback of the drivers benefit every owner who tackles a twisty mountain road or a nicely graded highway on-ramp.
Germany also provided access to another valuable test field: the Autobahn. Performance, though inseparable from the Corvette’s DNA thanks to Zora Arkus-Duntov, must be integrated with the car’s overall grand touring capability. Thanks to the Autobahn’s long stretches of high-speed freeway, Chevy’s engineers learned how to balance road-trip comfort with road course prowess.
To hear from the factory drivers and Corvette engineers themselves, check out the video below.
