Corvette C8.R Isn't Just Some Race-Tuned 2020 Stingray

Beginning and Ending

It isn't like we didn't know the C8.R was coming. But Chevy truly surprised us, and somewhat took the wind out of the sails of the C8 convertible unveiling by dropping details on the new racer recently. Not only that, but the C8.R is going to make its debut soon - at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. And while it shares its mid-engine layout with the production C8, that's pretty much where the similarities between the two begin and end. 

Photos: Chevrolet

More Than the Sum of Its Parts

"The C8.R is much more than just a race-tuned version of the 2020 Corvette Stingray," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Performance and Motorsports. "It’s a culmination of many years of testing and development between GM Design, Propulsion, Engineering, and the Corvette Racing team. The collaboration between these teams has allowed us to take these vehicles’ performance to the next level, both on the street and the track.”

Photos: Chevrolet 

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Use Your Eyes

So what exactly does that mean? Unfortunately, Chevy stopped short of giving us any more details on the C8.R. But we can go by what we can see, at the very least. And that starts with the unique bodywork present on the racing version of the world's first production mid-engine Corvette racer.

Photos: Chevrolet 

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Wider Body

The C8.R features a massive rear wing and rear diffuser, for starters. This bodywork is obviously used to give the racer significant amounts of downforce for the track. The car also appears to be wider than the production C8, both in the front and rear. 

Photos: Chevrolet 

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Changing Things Up

Interestingly, the front end of the C8.R looks a lot like the production C8's nose. And surprisingly, the C7.R's legendary black and yellow livery appears to have been replaced by a silver and yellow look on the Daytona-bound cars, at least. We'd expect future racers to wear a more traditional look, however.

Photos: Chevrolet 

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Mystery Engine

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the C8.R, however, is what mystery engine lies under that attractive surface. Chevy fired up the car at its unveiling at the Kennedy Space Center, then proceeded to drive it around a bit. And needless to say, it sounds absolutely nothing like the production C8.

Photos: Chevrolet

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Exotic Sound

In fact, the C8.R sounds much more like a Ferrari or other exotic than any other Corvette on the planet. Thus, it makes you wonder if the new racer packs Chevy's rumored flat-plane crank, dual-overhead-cam engine. And that would make a lot of sense if they plan to also put this same engine in a production Z06 and/or ZR1, as has been rumored for quite some time.

Photos: Chevrolet

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Rules of the Game

Of course, FIA homologation requirements stipulate that a racer's engine must be derived from a production engine with the production of over 300 units. And that's something Chevy could easily take care of by stuffing a similar (albeit not as wild) version of this exciting engine in the coming Z06.

Photos: Chevrolet 

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New Era

As always, the Corvette team's racing efforts will continue to go hand in hand with the production car. And the winner is us - the consumer. We're clearly entering a new era of America's sports car, and early signs indicate that it's going to be the best one yet.

Photos: Chevrolet

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