Chicago Tribune - 07.03.2020

2 Chicago Tribune|Auto Mart|Section 3|Saturday, March 7, 2020 C

Flying Car Mode and other secrets

of the 2020 Corvette Stingray

E

vadinghelicoptersurveillanceandchannelingthe spiritofthe“godfatheroftheCorvette”were businessasusualforGMengineersdeveloping the2020ChevroletCorvetteStingray,code- namedC8becauseit’stheeighth-generationof thesportscar. Thefirstmid-enginedproductioncarinCorvette history,thenewStingrayhadnear-mythicstatusbeforeit everturnedawheel,andhaswonnearlyeverymajornew carawardsinceitdebutedin2019.Thefirstproduction modelswillarriveatdealersinlateFebruaryorearly March. Chevroletengineersanddesignerswantedtomake amid-engine‘Vettesinceatleast1960,whenlegendary engineerZoraArkus-DuntovledcreationofChevrolet EngineeringResearchVehicleNo.1,orCERVI.Zora,a brilliantengineerandracingdriverwhotransformedthe 1950sCorvettefromacarthatwaslovelybutslowinto America’sgreatsportscar,wantedtomovetheengine fromthenosetobehindthepassengercompartment. Calledmid-engined,thatarrangementletscarsusemore powerthanthetraditionalfront-enginelayoutbecausethe engine’sweightovertherearwheelskeepsthetiresfrom spinningwhenthedriverfloorsit. “Wecouldaddhorsepower,butweweren’tmakingthe carfaster,”chiefengineerEdPiateksaidoffront-engine Corvettes. Throughthedecades,GMengineersanddesigners createdoneproposalafteranotherformid-engine‘Vettes. Nonemadeittoproduction. Afterasagalikethat,it’snosurprisethe2020Corvette Stingraygeneratedstoriesofitsown. ‘Nothingtoseehere.I’mjustanAustralianpickup.’ Planstobuildamid-engineCorvettewerecloselyheld evenwithinGM.Around2014,theteambuiltacard- accessonlyroominsideanalready-securecornerofGM’s techcenterforthefirstprototype.CodenameBlackjack, thetwo-seaterhidtheC8’schassisandsuspensionunder whatappearedtobethebodyoftheHoldenUte,asporty car-basedpickupmadebyGM’sAustralianbrand. “Itwasaconvenientshapetohideamid-engine layout,”C8leaddevelopmentengineerMikePetruccisaid. TheonlyactualHoldenpartsonBlackjackarethe brand’schromebadge,headlights,outsidemirrorsand taillights,buttheruseworked.Theone-of-a-kind“mule,” asdevelopmentvehiclesaresometimescalled,servedfor twoyearsofdevelopmentdrives—frequentlyatnight, sonotevenotherGMengineerswouldseeit—atGM’s provinggroundsinMilfordandYuma,Arizona. BuildingBlackjack—byhand,ofcourse—tookeight months.TheinteriorcamefromtheC7Corvettethatwas inproduction.Itsbodypanelswerehandmadefiberglass, carefullyshapedtolooklikeaUtewhilecoveringtheC8’s bones.Thosebones,incidentally,weremilledfrom7,000 poundsofaluminumingots,workdonesecretlyatother GMfacilities. InadditiontoBlackjack,theC8teamconsideredmules thatlookedlikestationwagonsandvans,twoother bodystylesthatwouldallowthemtohidethefactthat

theenginecompartmentwasbehind,notinfrontof,the passengers. ‘Incoming.Hidethe‘Vette!’ DespiteGM’ssecrecy,rumorsleakedoutthata mid-engine‘Vettewasagainunderconsideration.It immediatelybecamethetoptargetforspyphotographers, whospecializeingettingpicturesofvehiclesautomakers aredeveloping.Confirmationthatamid-engine‘Vette wascoming,andgoodphotosofthefabledproject,could makesomebody’scareer,nottomentionastackofdough higherthanthecar. InadditiontostakingoutGM’sprovinggroundsand areasautomakersdevelopvehicles—DeathValleyin thesummer,Finlandinwinter—somephotographers hiredhelicopterstoflyovertheMilfordprovinggrounds. BuzzingYumawasverboten,itsairspacerestricted becauseofnearbyU.S.militaryinstallations. Bythistime,Blackjackhadbeenreplacedbymulesthat, whilestilldisguised,wereclearlyforatwo-seatsportscar. Asingleclearphotowouldletthecatoutofthebag. Theanswerwasabetterbag:Afabriccarcover designedtobefoldedandstowedbetweenthe developmentcar’sseats.Youcanhearhelicoptersbefore youseetheminMilford’swooded,rollinglandscape. Developmentdriversweretoldtokeepthewindows openacrack,pullover,leapoutandunfurlthecarcover overthemuleatthefirstsoundofrotors.Theydrilled toperfectcoveringitquicklyandrefoldingthecover preciselyforfastdeploymentnexttime. Theysucceeded,standingnexttothecoveredcar andwavingatchoppersoverheadonatleastadozen occasions. Awinglikenoother Acloselookatthetallblackwingrisingabove Blackjack’stailgaterevealsthatit’supsidedown,theexact

oppositeoftheprofileyouseeonracecars.Whilemost automotivewingsgenerateaerodynamicdownforce—air pressurethatpushesthevehicledownsoitdoesn’tleave thegroundathighspeed—Blackjack’swingactually createsaerodynamiclift,likeaplane’swing. That’sbecausewindtunneltestsshowedBlackjack’s cobbledtogetherbodyhadaerodynamicliftatthenose. That’dbeunacceptableinaproductioncar,butsince Blackjack’sbodywouldneverbebuilt,theonlythingthat matteredwasthatitsaerodynamicprofilebeequalfront andrear.Creatingdownforcewouldbetheproduction body’sjob. Inaddition,thetwostanchionssupportingthewing doubleasairintakestocooltheenginemountedunder whatappearedtobeatonneaucoveronthepickupbed. TheC8’sperformancetargets—speed,aerodynamics, braking,fuelefficiency,etc.—weresetduringhundreds ofthousandsofcomputertestsbeforeBlackjackwasbuilt. WhatwouldZorado? GMhadneverbuiltacarliketheC8,sotheengineering teamhadtoinventmanyprocessesonthefly. “Ateveryturn,weaskedourselves,‘WhatwouldZora do?’“Piateksaid. Arkus-Duntov,widelycalledthegodfatherofthe Corvettebecauseheledthecar’sdevelopmentforan unprecedented20years,pushedtheperformanceenvelope atGMfromthedayhejoinedthecompanyin1953,first andforemostbymakingCorvettesfasterandbetter. Neverafraidtorufflefeathers,whileworkingatGM, DuntovtooktimeofftodriveforPorscheatthefamous 24HoursofLeMansrace,winningonce.Legendhas ithegotcompanyapprovalbypromisingtobringback competitiveintelligenceaboutPorsche,buthealsohelped theGermanautomakerimproveitsperformancewith suspensionmodifications. Whenheretiredin1975,Duntov’spartingwordsto DaveMcLellan,hissuccessoraschiefengineer,were reportedlythatthemid-engineCorvettewasnowinhis hands. ToensureeverymemberoftheC8teamunderstood thelegacytheyhadtheopportunitytocomplete,they worebrightyellow—thecolorofCorvetteracecarsthat havewonmanyLeMansraces—and“WhatWouldZora Do?”wristbands,makingthatthestandardfordecision making. Flyingcarmode TheoptionaladaptiveMagneticRideControlshock absorberstalktotheCorvette’stractioncontrolsystem,a featurethatcomesinhandyathighspeedsonthetrack, vehicleperformancemanagerAlexMacDonaldsaid. Why?Becausewhenacargoesairborneatveryhigh speeds,normaltractioncontrolsensestherearwheels spinningandrespondsasiftheywereoniceoranother slipperysurface:Itslowsthem. AnoptionalfeaturecalledGPS-basedfrontliftcan rememberupto1,000spotswhereyouraisedthenose. Whenyouapproachone,itraisesthenoseaninchatup to25mph. —MarkPhelan,DetroitFreePress

2020 CORVETTE STINGRAY FUN FACTS

74% of orders so far are for the coupe, 26% for
the convertible, which doesn’t go intoproduction
until April.

The most popular color is Torch Red.

GT2 seats with carbon fiber trim are most
popular.

There are 2,600 C7 Corvettes left at dealers, a
number expected to fall to 2,000 by the start of
March.

“Corvette Academy” features 24 videos on the
2020 Stingray’s development and features.

To showcase your

dealership contact

Kevin O’Keefe

at 219-793-5901

audi

AudiExchange 2490 SkokieValleyRoad HighlandPark,IL 6 0035 888 -4 53 -7 195 http://www.audiexchange.com

chrysler

Sherman Dodge Jeep Chrysler Ram 7601 N. Skokie Blvd. Skokie,IL60077 888-481-1777 ShermanTrib.com

dodge

honda

Muller Honda* 550 Skokie Valley Road, Highland Park 847-831-4200 http://www.muller-honda.com

Schaumburg Honda Automobiles* 750 E. Golf Rd. 847-88-Honda http://www.schaumburghondaautos.com

jeep

mercedes

Autohaus On Edens* 1600 Frontage Rd. Northbrook 847-272-7900 http://www.autohausonedens.com

Mercedes-Benz Of St. Charles* 225 North Randall Road St. Charles, IL 888-742-6095 http://www.mercedesbenzofstcharles.com

mercedes

Mercedes-Benz Of Westmont* 200 E. Ogden Ave. 886-415-8182 http://www.mbofwestmont.com

mitsubishi

Biggers Mitsubishi* 1325 E. Chicago St., Elgin 888-612-8400 http://www.biggersmitsubishi.com Schaumburg Mitsubishi* 660 E. Golf Road Schaumburg 866-670-8000 http://www.schaumburgmitsubishi.com

nissan

Arlington Nissan* 1100 W. Dundee Rd Arlington Heights, IL 60004 847-590-6100 http://www.arlingtonnissan.com

porsche

Porsche Exchange* 2300 Skokie Valley Rd. Highland Park #1 Volume Dealer in Illinois 847-266-7000 http://www.4porsche.com

Porsche Barrington 1475 S. Barrington Rd. Barrington, IL 60010 Chicagoland’s Fastest Growing Porsche Dealer 866-430-1277 http://www.barringtonporsche.com

ram

smart

Smart Center of St. Charles* 225 N. Randall Road in St. Charles, IL 888-459-2190 st-charles.smartdealersites.com

New Car Dealer Directory

Crossword

ACROSS 1“O__,AllYe Faithful” 5Passon,asa message 10Murdered 14Wishedyou hadn’tdone 15Bringtogether 16Cabbie’scar 17Doesn’tjustsit there 18Walker 20Encycl.volume, perhaps 21Birthstones 22Hurts 23SingerMariah 25Dooropener 26Stopsbriefly 28Against,ina courtcasetitle 31Soothe;ease 32Proverb 34Capture 36AM/PMdivider 37Officialdecrees 38Sourceofwoe 39African antelope 40__up;robsat gunpoint 41Terra-__;patio potclay 42Proseworks 44__rooster;feisty littlebird 45Shack

46Black-and-white animal 47Monastery superior 50Palmtreefruit 51Majornetwork 54“Nonsense!” 57Smallstore 58__outaliving; gotby 59One’sstrongsuit 60Munichman 61Likegrass bladesatdawn 62Legjoints 63Notrelaxed

DOWN 1Ruggedcliff 2Cryongettinga pinprick 3Likea perfectionist 4Ames&Asner 5Calcuttadollars 6Opponent 7Trashcancovers 8Supped 9Affirmative 10Alleycats 11Hideaway 12Test 13Comesinfirst 19“Been__,done that” 21ZaneorLady Jane 24Similewords

25Beerbarrels 26Hungerreminder 27Without companions 28Cisterns 29Disconnected 30__Barbara,CA 32Hasabug 33TV’s“American __!” 35Smilebroadly 37RacerA.J. 38Tightconnection 40__cuisine;fine food 41Candy__; Yuletidesweet

43Poorly constructed 44Washes 46Whiteadhesive 47Notupyet 48Recipeverb 49__it;screwed up 50Issuea challengeto 52Björnoftennis 53Quick-footed 55JFK’sAttorney General 56Puton,as clothing 57Thatwoman

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Chicago Tribune - 07.03.2020

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