2008 Chevrolet Corvette Future & Concept Cars at Automotive.com

2009 Chevrolet Corvette SS ZR1 Blue Devil Spy Shots

Below is a future car article by the automotive experts at Automobile Magazine. Continue reading below or click any thumbnail to view the full size photos.

2008 Chevrolet Corvette Costs of Ownership

QUICK PRICE QUOTE

DEALER LOCATOR

User Rating

4.0

Rating:

Value Rating

N/A

LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

Change Submodel

CHANGE VEHICLE

2009 Chevrolet Corvette SS ZR1 Blue Devil Spy Shots

By Jason Cammisa / Photography by Brenda Priddy / Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

2009 Corvette Ss Zr1 Blue Devil Front Three Quarters

2009 Corvette Ss Zr1 Blue Devil Rear Three Quarter Moving

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the best pictures yet of the forthcoming Corvette SS. What, you've never heard of the Corvette SS? That's because it's also been called the Corvette Blue Devil. And, more recently, the Corvette ZR-1.

The truth is that no one knows what it'll be called. Sure, photos of a ZR-1 badge have been seen floating around, but we're not entirely convinced that that badge will be resurrected. The original ZR-1 remains an icon of the early 1990s, but also the red-headed stepchild of the Corvette lineup in many ways.

Only time will tell what the new Corvette will be called. But what's most important is that this will be the first real 200-mph Corvette. The biggest factor in getting to the 200-mph mark is, of course, horsepower, and the SS (as we're going to call it) will have a LS9 V-8 that will make somewhere around 650 hp. The first forced-induction factory Corvette will use a supercharger and intercooler to force feed the 6.2-liter V-8.

For packaging reasons and like the supercharged Northstar engine, the LS9's supercharger and charge-to-water intercooler will be nestled in the valley of the engine's vee. The supercharger will be driven by a Magnacharger-type belt and shaft-drive in the rear of the engine.

Of course, power is just half of the equation when pushing a car to ultrahigh top speeds. Reducing aerodynamic drag is just as important. While the Z06 can approach speeds close to 200 mph, it experiences a good bit of aerodynamic lift, reducing stability. The SS will need to reduce lift, and the fender vents visible in the photographs are a good way to start - they allow air out of the engine compartment rather than having pressure build up under the car. The best place to let the pressure out to reduce lift would be up high, so we wouldn't be surprised to find exhaust vents in the hood.

Weight isn't a big factor in top speed, but it sure is a big factor in acceleration - and so the Corvette SS will benefit from additional lightweight materials (read: carbon fiber) wherever possible in the front two-thirds of the car. We expect all carbon fiber panels in all the same places as in the Z06, but also in the hood, doors, and roof panel.

At some point, the SS will have to stop, and the Z06's brakes just aren't up to the task (they have a hard enough time not overheating in the Z06). The spy photos show what looks like cross-drilled carbon-ceramic brakes.

We expect the Corvette SS / Blue Devil / ZR-1 / whatever you want to call it to debut at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and to go on sale in the summer of 2008 as a 2009 model. The price will likely be under $100,000, and while that may sound like a lot of money, it continues the Corvette's tradition of outperforming cars costing two and three times as much.