Should the Chevrolet Corvette C8 be more like a Corvette?

As the first production mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette, the C8 broke new ground for the sports car. But does the C8 really look like a Corvette? Hot rodder Chip Foose doesn’t think so, and he offered his advice on how to improve the design in a video posted to YouTube.

Foose said one of the things he loved the most about the Corvette was the marked evolution of its design over the first seven generations. It ended abruptly with the C8, as the proportions were completely altered to accommodate an engine behind the driver.

A mid-engined layout brings significant performance benefits, which helped the C8 win Automotive Authority Best car to buy award, but it also erased the Corvette legacy, according to Foose, who believes the C8 is too generic and too easily confused with other mid-engined cars like the Acura NSX .

Foose’s solution, as shown in a sketch, draws more on styles from the previous generation Corvette C7. Foose used the C7’s front fender vents, flipping them over to serve as air intakes for the mid-engine. The Foose version also has more pronounced rear hips and a longer hood, tying it more tightly to the C7 and continuing that evolutionary line.

This design DNA may soon be stretched to its limits, if reports that Chevy is considering an electric SUV bearing the Corvette badge prove to be true. This would take advantage of General Motors’ new Ultium battery system and give Chevy a competitor to the Ford Mustang Mach-E but, as far as we know, the plan has not been approved.

The traditional Corvette could also go electric eventually, as part of GM’s “push” to eliminate tailpipes from its passenger car lineup by 2035. That would certainly open up a lot of design possibilities.