GM's Pasadena Design Studio Unveils Its California Corvette Concept
In America, the Corvette occupies a unique space in our cultural history. From the start, it cast a distinct shadow and established the sports car as an affordable dream. It has carried on for decades as new generations discover and covet this machine. At General Motors' Advanced Design studios in Pasadena, California, a new vision of an icon has been born. It's all electric, extremely aerodynamic, and futuristic, and Chevrolet dubbed it the California Corvette.
The California Corvette, a sleek carbon tub concept riding on futuristic wheels, was designed with a T-shaped prismatic battery. This enables a lower seating position than the typical, flat skateboard type.
GM allowed some journalists to experience the interior of the C10 concept via virtual reality headset, which showed an augmented-reality head-up display, adjustable pedals, racecar-worthy seats, a wireless phone charger, and a steering apparatus that is more jet fighter jet than car. Sliding behind the adjustable steering 'wheel' requires lifting a single-piece front-hinged canopy.Designers in the GM Pasadena studio sketch out digital ideas.
Extreme Aerodynamics And A T-Shaped Battery
Located in Pasadena, the GM studio is spread out over a 148,000 square-foot campus. Roughly 130 staff work in design, creative, facilities, operations, sculpting, and fabrication, and skilled artisans craft physical clay models.
The Advanced Design team invited multiple GM studios in Detroit, Shanghai, Seoul, the UK and Los Angeles to envision Corvette-inspired hypercars. Back in March, the UK studio revealed the first version and the California studio just issued the latest one. From my view, the California studio nailed the spirit of the iconic model with lines that identify it as a Corvette, while the UK studio's version was more cartoonishly angular.
Bearing a decidedly pronounced rear diffuser and a series of carved-out tunnels for airflow, the California Corvette was imagined as an aerodynamic superstar. Of course, there are elements that might evoke memories of the Batmobile in the Christian Bale versions of the movies, but in silver and red. Bruce Wayne would surely drive this car when he's not fighting criminals.
'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," says Brian Smith, design director, GM Advanced Design Pasadena.
Rear view of the Chevrolet California Corvette
Only In Our Dreams… For Now
GM says 'there is no production intent behind this design study." While this Corvette is not intended for production and may never see the light of day, it's a design that both evokes the heritage and strength of the model nameplate. And although this concept bears a 'C10' internal designation, it's very much speculation at this point, says Caleb Miller from Car and Driver.
'With the current C8 Corvette expected to remain on sale until the end of this decade, that means the California Corvette concept is likely looking out to at least the year 2040,' Miller observes.
Even so, the California Corvette is an intriguing look into the future of what a Corvette might look like. I'll be looking forward to new concepts from the other design studios and even more revelations about what could be.
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