Is France’s Prato Orage Actually Just A C6 Corvette?

One of the more intriguing cars to be displayed and driven at the Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend was the Prato Orage.

Built by a French company, very few details about the car were known in the lead-up to its dynamic debut at Goodwood. Even now, mystery surrounds the eye-catching French supercar but according to British journalist, Lewis Kingston, the Orage is actually based around a C6-generation Chevrolet Corvette.

Images of the supercar’s interior provide a number of hints about its true identity. For starters, it is clear that the steering column is identical to the one you’ll find on the C6, including the same adjustment lever and headlight and wiper stalks. Additionally, the gear lever is in the same location as the C6 Corvette. A look at the door panels also reveals that it has identical wing mirror adjustment switches to the C6 and features the same window toggles.

Also Read: France’s Curious Prato Orage Supercar Heading To Goodwood

Aside from its general configuration and shape, the steering column/shifter position was the first thing that set me thinking. Then there are the dead giveaways, such as the mirror/window switches.

Minor details further reveal its origins, such as the brake caliper positioning. pic.twitter.com/irdKWeHIgA

— Lewis Kingston (@theseoldcars) July 4, 2019

The journalist also says that the positioning of the brake calipers is a dead giveaway about the car’s underpinnings.

Prato claims that the 8.1-liter V8 engine powering the Orage is the most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 used by any production car. While running up the Goodwood hillclimb, the car certainly sounded like a Corvette, even if it does displace a little more and pump out more horsepower, a claimed 888 hp to be precise.

It’s not unusual for small companies to base their supercars around existing models but usually, they’re quite open about it. Nowhere in any press material release by Prato does it say that the Orage is either based around a C6 Corvette or at the very least, shares a number of parts with it.