√Next Chevrolet Corvette supercar to keep V8 power, due in 2028

Overseas reports claim the next Chevrolet Corvette sports-car will keep V8 power – and be sold alongside an electric sedan and SUV wearing the iconic badge.

The next-generation Chevrolet Corvette supercar is due in 2028, according to a new overseas report – and is claimed to retain V8 power as one of the US car giant’s last brand-new petrol-powered models.

Sources cited by reputable US specialist website GM Authority claim the next-generation Corvette two-door – dubbed the ‘C9’ – is due to be unveiled in 2028, and arrive in US showrooms for Model Year 2029, pending any delays.

GM Authority claims the next Corvette is planned to be an evolution of the mid-engined ‘C8’ Corvette in Chevrolet showrooms today – rather than a ground-up new model – and is due to retain petrol power, likely including the iconic V8.

The publication reports the next-generation, V8-engined Corvette C9 supercar would be unrelated to two new Corvette-branded electric cars – a sedan and an SUV – due in showrooms from 2025.

If the 2028 launch date reported by GM Authority is not delayed, the Corvette C9 two-door could be one of the last brand-new petrol models launched by GM before it goes electric-only across its passenger car range in 2035.

It was previously anticipated the current C8 Corvette – which launched in the US in 2019 – would be the last with a petrol V8, and the next model would switch to pure battery power.

However, it now appears – if the GM Authority report is accurate – the C9 Corvette would retain V8 power up to the 2035 deadline – which applies to all cars, SUVs and utes except heavy-duty pick-ups (2500-class and above).

It is worth noting GM executives have left the door open to backtrack on the 2035 electric-only date should customer demand for petrol and diesel vehicles not be strong enough, according to industry journal Automotive News.

The GM Authority does not rule out or point to the fitment of hybrid power to the next-generation Corvette – following the lead of the recently-revealed C8 Corvette E-Ray hybrid.

The next-generation Chevrolet Corvette would likely benefit from an announcement overnight to invest in a new generation of GM’s ‘small block’ V8 engine family.

The engines in today’s C8 Chevrolet Corvette are considered the fifth generation of the V8 range – which debuted in an earlier form in 1963 – though they are more closely related to the third generation, which launched in 1997.

In addition to all eight past generations of Corvettes – and six generations of Camaro muscle cars – Chevrolet’s small-block engines have been used in multiple generations of Holdens.

Interestingly, the media release announcing the sixth-generation V8 engine family references “industry-leading full-size truck and SUV business” – and makes no mention of sports cars, including the Corvette.

The reported move to base the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette on the current model has precedent, as the 2005-2013 C6 was derived from the earlier 1997-2004 C5 under the skin.

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