How the Mid-Engine Corvette Stacks Up Against Other Cars In Its Segment
Since its introduction last week, there have been numerous stories stating the all-new mid-engine Corvette will compete in super-car territory. GM’s claims that the 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette’s naturally aspirated LT2 V8 engine produces 495 horsepower and 470lb./ft. or torque is impressive enough, but when it was stated that the car could go from 0-60 mph in less than three seconds, the world took notice. Assuming this claim is true, the mid-engine Corvette will be ranked among some of the fastest cars in the world. What makes this more astonishing? You can own one for less than $60k!
It was with these thoughts in mind that we started looking at other cars in the mid-engine Corvette’s market segment. We wondered just how well the next-generation ‘Vette would genuinely stack-up against the offerings of other manufacturers. What we discovered was somewhat astonishing. Before we dive into our comparisons, we’d like to thank our friends at Motor1.com and MotorTrend.com, both of whom did their own side-by-side comparisons of the mid-engine Corvette vs. the competition. While we compiled our own data, your publications were both valuable reference points when beginning our own evaluations.
And now…the 2020 Corvette Vs. the Competition!
The Age-Old Rivalry – Corvette vs. Porsche
Any article that is going to compare a Corvette to ANY other vehicle needs to begin by acknowledging the decades-long rivalry that exists between Chevrolet and Porsche. Since the 1960’s, when Corvette first began competing at Le Mans, the Corvette/Porsche rivalry has been alive and well. With each passing generation/model, automobile critics around the globe have stacked these age-old rivals against one another, seeing how each car measured up against its counterpart. While the needle has moved back and forth between Porsche and Corvette, history has tended to favor the Porsche. However, we believe history is about to change.
Since the official claim was “a mid-engine Corvette equipped with the Z51 performance package could achieve a 0-60 time of less than 3 seconds,” we felt it only fair that we select a 911 model that was bolstered beyond the entry-level 911 Carrera Coupe. Instead, we selected the all-new Porsche 911 Carrera S for our comparison.
We won’t bore you with lots of sales rhetoric…instead, we simply stacked the published numbers (based on what’s been shared with us by both companies), and the let the stats speak for themselves. It should be noted that all of the specs for the 911 come directly from Porsche’s website.
| 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette Stingray | Porsche 911 Carrera S |
| Price: From less than $60,000.00 | Price: From $113,300.00 |
| Horsepower: 495 hp | Horsepower: 443 hp |
| Torque: 470 lb-ft. | Torque: 370 lb-ft. |
| Top Speed: Unknown at this time | Top Speed: 191 mph |
| Transmission: 8-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic | Transmission: 8-Speed PDK Automatic |
| 0-60 Time: Less than 3 Seconds | 0-60 Time: 3.5 Seconds |
While these specifications are only one measurement of both car’s overall experience, there’s no question that these numbers are compelling in favor of the mid-engine’s performance superiority. While the rivalry will continue to rage on well into the future, we can’t help but wonder how far the needle will swing in favor of the all-new Mid-Engine Corvette.
The 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette Against Other Competitors In It’s Segment
For our next “2020 Corvette vs. the competition” comparison, we turned to other mid-engine coupes in the Corvette’s segment (price and comparable horsepower) to see how it measured up against a broader base of competitors. Once more, we found the results (at least those we have data for) compelling.
| 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette | Lexus LC 500 | Jaguar F-Type R | 2020 Nissan GTR | Acura NSX | Audi R8 | |
| Price: | Less than $60,000 | From $95,000 | From $102,825 | From $113,540 | From $159,495 | From $171,150 |
| Horsepower: | 495 HP (369 kW) | 471 HP (351 kW) | 550 HP (410 kW) | 565 HP (421 kW) | 573 HP (427 kW) | 562 HP (419 kW) |
| Torque: | 465 lb-ft. (631 Nm) | 398 lb-ft. (540 Nm) | 502 lb-ft (681 Nm) | 467 lb-ft (633 Nm) | 476 lb.-ft (645 Nm) | 406lb.-ft (551 Nm) |
| Top Speed | Unknown | 168 mph (270 kph) | 186 mph (299 kph) | 195 mph (313 kph) | 191 mph (307 kph) | 201 mph (324 kph) |
| Transmission | 8-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic | 10-Speed Automatic | 8-Speed Automatic | 6-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic | 9-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic | 7-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic |
| 0-60 Time | Less than 3 Seconds (with Z51 Package) | 4.4 Seconds | 3.9 Seconds | 2.9 Seconds | 2.9 Seconds | 3.4 Seconds |
First and foremost, the 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette is the least expensive car in this segment of cars. Given that it’s nearly 37% less expensive than the Lexus LC (the next least expensive car in all of the comparisons to this point), its remarkable that the Corvette rivals the performance numbers of every car referenced.
If the claims of the mid-engine Corvette’s 0-60 times are correct (and we’ve got every reason to believe they’re true), then the 2020 C8 will actually rival every car in this class and potentially out-perform many of them!
One other interest point worth noting: Every one of these cars comes equipped with an automatic transmission (and that’s the ONLY transmission available for each of these cars.) Chevrolet is simply following suit with market standard by equipping the new Corvette with an automatic transmission. While some Corvette “purists” are understandably upset by this announcement, we must acknowledge that everyone – from Porsche to Acura to Audi – are doing the same.
It Looks Like a Ferrari
We’ve heard it said, REPEATEDLY, that the 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette looks remarkably like a Ferrari. That got us to thinking – how well does it perform like a Ferrari?
We’ve already established that in its segment the Mid-Engine Corvette rivals every one of its competitors, and will probably out-perform many of them. That’s all fine and well, but when it comes to the “big boys on campus,” we realize that Ferrari is often recognized as the “gold standard” both on-and-off the racetrack. It led us to wonder if our “2020 Corvette vs. the competition” challenge would continue to hold-true when we put the newly-minted Chevrolet against a bonafide super-car.
To make things interesting, we thought we’d stack the 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette against a 2019 Ferrari 488 Spider and see how things shook out. What did we find? See for yourself:
| 2020 Mid-Engine Corvette Stingray | 2019 Ferrari 488 Spider |
| Price: Less than $60,000 | Price: $252,800 |
| Horsepower: 495 hp (369 kW) | Horsepower: 659 hp (492 kW) |
| Torque: 465 lb-ft. (631 Nm) | Torque: 560 lb-ft. (760 Nm) |
| Top Speed: Unknown | Top Speed: 202 mph |
| Transmission: 8-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic | Transmission: 7-Speed Dual Clutch Automatic |
| 0-60 mph Time: Less than 3 Seconds | 0-62 mph Time: 3.0 Seconds |
While the Ferrari boasts bigger engine output numbers, to say nothing of its MUCH LARGER pricetag, the 0-60 times once more indicate that the C8 is going to give the Ferrari a run for its, well, money!
Yes, we recognize that there are considerable design and engineering differences between the two cars. Despite looking similar in appearance, the Ferrari is in a completely different class than the Corvette. Still, it will be interesting to see how these two cars stack up as additional statistics become available from Chevrolet about the mid-engine Corvette. This much is certain – we’ll be very interested to see these two cars race side-by-side sometime in the (hopefully) not too distant future.
The Proof Is In the Numbers
While we’ve based the listed statistics about the new Corvette on the information that was communicated to us by Chevrolet on July 18, 2019, we’ve got no reason to doubt the accuracy of the data provided. We’ve already seen the incredible performance specs of the 2019 Corvette ZR1 that was unveiled last year, and we know that Chevrolet has been developing technology in conjunction with the Corvette Racing program for decades. Considering the power and technology advances developed during the production of the C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes over the past 20 years, there’s little doubt that the next-generation Corvette will only continue to surpass its predecessors, transcending its status as a sports car into the arena of the super-car. Given that the base model mid-engine Stingray is already challenging the performance numbers of cars many times its price-point, we can’t wait to see what types of statistics future iterations of the Mid-Engine Corvette will be capable of producing!
