Chevrolet is getting ready to unveil the eighth-generation Corvette on July 18 and it's slowly releasing details about the mid-engined sports car. GM just confirmed that the new Corvette will debut as a Stingray, just like the C7-generation Corvette.
Why it matters?
Although the shift from a front-engined to a mid-engined architecture gets all the attention nowadays -- which is normal given the massive departure from the classic layout -- the C8 needs to remain a Corvette. The Stingray badge does just that: it helps the C8 remain connected to its siblings.
Chevrolet has used the Stingray badge and name on and off since the 1950s and it reintroduced it most recently in 2014, when the C7 Corvette came into the spotlight. This means that the Stingray name will live on for at least another generation, covering the life cycles of both the C7 and C8. This hasn't happened since the 1960s, when Chevy kept the name as it replaced the C2 with the C3.
But the name was discontinued before the C3 was replaced in 1982, so this could be the first time when Chevy keeps it in production for two complete generational cycles. It remains to be seen whether it will last more than last time, when the name survived for 13 years.
Second, the Stingray name is of iconic importance for Corvette enthusiasts. Chevy had a good reason for launching it in 1963: the C2 Corvette's design was actually inspired by the stingray, a flat and "winged" fish that's related to sharks. The tapering rear deck, the long nose, the protruding beltline, and the gills on the front fenders are all a tribute to this fantastic animal that now is mostly remembered for fatally injuring Steve Irwin, also known as "The Crocodile Hunter."
Sure, no Corvette will look as unique as the stringray-inspired C2, but enthusiasts will always resonate with the Stingray badge.
The C8 Corvette features a new badge
Along with the brief press release, Chevrolet revealed the car's new badge.
An iconic logo from 1963
The Stingray name is as iconic as vintage badges get. Both the name and the badge go back to 1963, when Chevrolet took the sports car market by shock with the C2-generation Corvette. Previewed by a first-gen car that wasn't necessarily impressive design- and performance-wise, the C2 arrived with a bang. It looked different than anything else on the market and it was impressively fast thanks to small-block V-8 engines that delivered up to 360 horsepower (later fitted with big-blocks rated at up to 435 horses).
Chevrolet kept the name when it redesigned the Corvette for the 1968 model year. The C3 was even sleeker than its predecessor and kept the stringray-inspired design that Zora Arkus-Duntov first crafted in the early 1960s. Based on the Mako Shark II concept of 1965, the C3 retained the sloping rear deck, the long engine hood, and the side gills, but features more muscular fenders and an even pointier nose. Although the C3 remained in production until 1982, Chevy dropped the Stingray name in 1976. The badge remained dormant until 2014, when it was relaunched for the C7-generation Corvette.
Further reading
Read all about the mid-engined Corvette concepts that never made it to production!
Read our speculative review of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1
Read our full review of the 2019 Chevy Corvette ZR1
Read up on the 1953-1962 Chevy C1 Corvette
Check out our review of the 1963-1968 Chevy C2 Corvette
Read our in-depth review of the 1969 Chevy Corvette 427 C3
Read up on our review of the 1997-2004 Chevy C5 Corvette}
Read up on the 2005-2013 Chevy C6 Corvette
Check out our full review of the 2014-2019 Chevy C7 Corvette
The 9 concepts that led to the mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette C8