- Chevrolet has been planning out a Corvette sub-brand for nearly five years
- Now, new reports suggest GM is giving up on schemes to make a Corvette family
- An all-electric Corvette and a Corvette SUV were allegedly in development
A plan to take the “Corvette” name and morph it into an entire Chevrolet sub-brand, one with an SUV and all-electric model, has apparently been thrown in the dumpster.According to those in theknow at outlets like GMAuthority, General Motors (GM) just recently pulled the plug on a scheme that allegedly would have seen numerous new models wear the vaunted Corvette badge. The ambitious expansion plan – which has been stirring in the rumour mill nearly five years – was apparently shelved for a number of reasons, including cost.
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But one has to think public perception had something to do with the decision as well. Devotees faithful to the Corvette name were likely to pick up torches and pitchforks should an SUV or all-electric sedan have appeared wearing ‘Vette badges, especially if the furor that arose when Chevy moved the Corvette powertrain amidships was any indication. Here’s the thing, though: most of them seemed to get over it, and many people now recognize the current C8 as the best-performing Corvette ever assembled in Bowling Green.
The plan wasn’t without precedent. The entirety of Porsche was turned on its head when that company’s Cayenne SUV arrived, followed by other seismic reactions to the Panamera and Macan, not to mention the all-electric Taycan. Those models, particularly the SUVs, have allowed the brand to continue cranking out enthusiast models like the 911 GT3 RS, something that was not assured without the infusion of profits they garnered. Alert minds inside GM probably saw a similar opportunity with the Corvette.
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That won’t happen now, at least not in the short term. A broad pullback by General Motors from its ambitious EV plans probably had a big influence on the decision, too. Less clear is whether those at the levers of power paid attention to public sentiment and elected not to leverage the Corvette brand equity in this manner, though it’s not like they could have avoided hearing it. Whatever the reason, don’t look for alt-universe Corvette models from Chevrolet any time soon.
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