Listen to the Mid-Engine Corvette Testing at Sebring (Video)

General Motors still hasn’t acknowledged the existence of a mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette, but what the automotive world believes to be the racing version of the C8 was recently captured on video testing at Sebring – giving us a great chance to hear the engine of the next Chevrolet Racing endurance car in action.

General Motors has never done or said anything to confirm that a mid-engine Corvette is coming to market, but there is no question that the automaker is working on a mid-engine sports car of some sort and pretty much everyone expects that it will be the 8th generation of the fabled American sports car. Maybe this mid-engine sports car isn’t a Corvette. Maybe it is a Cadillac or a Chevrolet sports car that is part of the Corvette family, while not completely replacing the traditional front-engine design. We don’t know for sure, but GM is working on some variety of high performance machine with a mid-engine design and lines that would certainly “fit” the Corvette lineage.

In any case, GM is working on a race version of the mid-engine sports car that we believe to be the C8 Corvette and recently, that race car was caught on video testing at Sebring at night. The car is heavily camouflaged and much of the track is dark, so we don’t get all that good of a look at the mysterious race car, but we get a great chance to hear it roar as it slips in and out of the shadows.

Testing at Sebring
In the video below, the mysterious race car that is likely the C8.R Corvette endurance racer is working out at Sebring late at night. The car is clad in the familiar black-and-white camo, but we can still see the basic lines of the car, the lights, the race-ready front aero bits, a huge rear diffuser and the big rear wing. There is no question that the taillights are similar to the current Corvette and this is definitely a racing version of the mid-engine road car that has been seen all over the US over the past year.

More important than the video is the audio, as we get a great chance to hear the mid-engine Corvette roar without much other sound getting in the way. This car definitely doesn’t sound like an LT-based engine and it doesn’t quite sound like the current Corvette Racing 5.5-liter V8. Perhaps this car is powered by the new turbocharged version of the 5.5-liter V8, but in any case, it sounds amazing.

Rumors suggest that the mid-engine Corvette could make its grand debut next month at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. If that proves to be true, it won’t be long before we can stop speculating about the future of the all-American sports car.