Not satisfied with ‘only’ unveiling the 2020
Corvette Stingray Convertible at a special event at Kennedy Space Center,
Chevrolet has also introduced its new Corvette C8.R race car.
Chevrolet hasn’t released technical details about
the Corvette C8.R but it is expected to have ditched the road car’s 6.2-liter
naturally-aspirated V8 in favor of a 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated V8 with a
flat-plane crank. This explains why it has sounded so much different to the
production model in spy videos.
The No. 4 car presented to the world features a
yellow and silver livery inspired by Corvette concepts such as the 1973
Chevrolet Aerovette and the 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer. Chevrolet has also
designed a No. 3 car with a more traditional yellow color scheme with silver
accents that continues the lineage of the successful GTLM racing Corvettes from
the past two decades.
Chevrolet will initially run the C8.R through the
2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship where it will compete against the
BMW M8 GTE and Porsche 911 RSR in the GTLM category. Its racing debut will be
made at the Rolex 24 Hours in January 2020. Corvette Racing has secured no
less than 107 race victories since 1999, netted 13 team championships, 12
driver titles, and 12 manufacturer titles. It will hope to replicate this
success with the new C8.R.
