Exclusive Look At 2020 Corvette C8’s Dash From Behind The Wheel

The 2020 Corvette will be unveiled next week, but we’re taking you for a look from behind the wheel a little bit early with new (additional) photos.

As you first saw in our previous set of exclusive pictures, the 2020 C8 is a radical departure from its predecessor as drivers will sit behind a new two-spoke steering wheel and find themselves facing a digital instrument cluster. The screen is slated to measure 12-inches diagonally and it will be flanked by old school warning lights on the right.

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Getting back to the steering wheel, it has meaty paddle shifters which reside in front of some parts bin turn stalks. The wheel sports an assortment of controls, including one for the new heated steering wheel, but the most interesting is the silver “Z” button. GM has kept that button heavily camouflaged in prototypes, so the company obviously wants to keep it a secret.

We revealed its existence months ago and tentatively dubbed it the Zora button. We’re still not a 100% sure what it does, but it could load driver presets or put the car in a specially configured performance mode by automatically adjusting a number of different vehicle settings. Of course, that remains unconfirmed and so do any specific ties to Zora Arkus-Duntov. That being said, the company hasn’t exactly been coy on the Zora references as he’s been featured in teaser videos and on camouflaged prototypes.

Check Out The C8 Corvette’s New Fully-Digital Instrument Cluster

Underneath the steering wheel is alloy pedals with rubberized grips. There are also slender air vents and a button for the electronic parking brake.

While we’ve already shown you the controversial center console, with its ramp-like structure, we have some unfortunate news about the infotainment system. It’s smaller than the images suggest as it has thick bezels all around. The infotainment software should be familiar to current Chevrolet owners, but there should be a handful of special Corvette touches.

Below the infotainment system is a stylish metallic accent and new controls for the dual-clutch transmission. While we initially thought the rotary controller was for infotainment purposes, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The rest above it features a metal plaque that appears to say “Mode.” This suggests it’s there to provide easy access to the Corvette’s various drive modes.

Rendering Copyright Carscoops / Josh Byrnes

Chevrolet will likely only introduce the entry-level Corvette Stingray next week, but high performance variants have been under development for a long time. In particular, the upcoming 5.5-liter V8 was a secretive staple of a certain facility in Michigan. Of course, that’s a story for another time.

Photos Copyright Carscoops.com