A sample of what may have been a new Corvette.

Photo credit: JAMES. B. TREECE

Corvettes that might have been

Add a comment

January 13, 2013 - 10:30 pm ET UPDATED: 1/13/13 11:38 p.m. ET

	James B. Treece is industry editor for Automotive News

Article Tools

Reprints	Print
Respond	Size:

Other blogs

• Why GM can only get hurt keeping data secret
• Honda's little radiation-proof robot does nuke duty
• Why Europe is a proving ground for rising star executives
• Foreign competition leads to new partnerships in China
• More dealership employees = more sales?

DETROIT -- It's a fair bet that every designer at General Motors wants to work on the iconic Chevrolet Corvette.

So when work began on a seventh-generation Corvette, GM design boss Ed Welburn gave everybody a shot. All of the designers at GM's studios around the globe were invited to submit sketches.

He received responses mostly from exterior designers, but interior designers sent their sketches as well.

Lots of sketches. 300 in total.

Welburn and his colleagues are confident that the latest Corvette is the best car they could have made. So much so, that they were willing to show the designs they considered, and passed over.

After the car's unveiling, GM invited reporters and the rest of the crowd in attendance to meet with the specialists behind the car. There were folks explaining its frame, its engine, its light-weight roof and hood made of carbon-fiber material and so on.

GM's top brass received some 300 sketches from company designers and others that led to the styling of the new Corvette.

Photo credit: JAMES B. TREECE

At a station devoted to the car's design, the slide show included several looks at the competing designs that were reviewed when the car was still in development. Here are a few of those designs. Compare these to the final result: the car that was unveiled Sunday night.

What do you think?

You can reach James B. Treece at jtreece@crain.com.

 Print    Respond to Editor    Reprints