Corvette Rumored To Become Its Own Brand Offering Sedan, Crossover / SUV

They may or may not have something to do with the fact that the Corvette always featured a different badge than Chevrolet’s bowtie (although the crossed flags emblem does include it) but rumors about the sports car evolving into a separate brand have long circulated.

With the launch of the all-new, radically different 2020 Corvette Stingray, they seem to resurface again. Autoweek reports that the Corvette will become a standalone brand that will offer a sedan and an SUV or crossover.

It’s easy to dismiss this as just a rumor, but the publication claims it got the information from unnamed GM insiders. The report says General Motors intends to use the hype around the 2020 Corvette Stingray to launch the Corvette brand which would bring it way more benefits than the mid-engine sports car can bring on its own.

That’s because the new brand would offer more lucrative vehicles such as a sedan and a crossover or SUV from 2023. According to the same sources, the Corvette brand would also be responsible for launching the Corvette C8-based Cadillac sports car.

Cadillac’s version of the C8 would be the second Corvette-based model after the Cadillac XLR which was based on the Corvette C6. The Cadillac-badged C8 could get the Blackwing V8 engine introduced in the CT6-V.

In the performance sedan, the 4.2-liter twin-turbo unit makes 550 hp and 627 lb-ft (850 Nm) of torque. That’s significantly more than the LT2 makes in the 2020 Corvette Stingray — 495 hp and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm) with the Z51 package.

It’s worth noting that both the Corvette brand and the Cadillac C8 are still in the planning stages, according to the GM insiders, and could easily be canceled if market conditions become unfavorable. Interestingly, at the 2020 Corvette Stingray launch last week, GM executives did not comment on the rumors but did not strongly deny them either.

Also see: A Corvette Performance SUV Might Not Be A Bad Idea After All

“I can’t say anything one way or the other,” Jim Campbell, GM vice-president of performance vehicles and motorsports said when asked about the alleged Corvette brand and Cadillac C8 plans. “Probably not going to see that,” GM president Mark Reuss replied.