As the TV commercial from decades ago boldly declared, the Chevrolet brand is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. (For the 21st century, though, staggering national debt, medical bankruptcies, and setting the Middle East on fire might be more appropriate descriptors.) And the most American of all vehicles in Chevy’s product portfolio is, arguably, the legendary Corvette sports car, an iconic product with international appeal. In fact, GM’s new design studio in the UK just shared photos of an all-electric concept car inspired by the iconic Corvette.
That New Studio Smell
According to the automaker, “General Motors has expanded its global design studio footprint with the official opening of a new advanced design studio in Royal Leamington Spa.” This facility, about 20 miles from Birmingham in the British Midlands, employs more than 30 creatives and is headed by Julian Thomson. At nearly 25,000 square feet, this studio is equipped with digital design tools, though it can also support clay models, a much more traditional approach to vehicle design.
As for the concept car crafted in this new facility, it’s an advanced design study that was developed in the UK and is part of larger, global efforts that will produce additional Corvette concepts throughout the year. In short, stay tuned for similar announcements later in 2025.
Surprisingly clean looking for an exotic car concept, this British Corvette has pronounced fenders, massive wheels (22-inchers up front and 23s at the rear) and a bifurcated windshield that recalls the famous “split window” model from 1963. This car’s lower fascia incorporates lighting elements, has gargantuan air intakes, and juts out like an automotive version of the Habsburg jaw. Seriously, that lower bumper looks like a tripping hazard.
As with any exotic vehicle, this one features suitably unique doors, gullwing-style swing panels that dramatically open upward, taking the divided windshield for a ride, too. Parts of this vehicle, including the body structure, were made using “additive manufacturing,” a fancy term for 3D printing. This supposedly increases efficiency and helps reduce weight.
Dimensionally, this concept Corvette is about 184 inches long, roughly 86 inches wide, and less than 41 inches tall. Underneath that striking bodywork is a pushrod suspension system that was inspired by race cars.
Under the hood, the car seems to be electric, even though GM doesn’t appear to explicitly state this. According to the automaker, “The lower half focuses on functional technical design, including EV battery technology embedded into the structure and aerodynamic elements designed to channel air efficiently without the need for wings or spoilers.” If there is a combustion engine and transmission, it’s hard to see where those components would fit in this design study.
Again, this is just a rolling experiment of sorts, so don’t expect this car to land at your local Chevy dealership anytime soon. Still, producing vehicles like this is a great way for GM’s global design teams to collaborate and innovate.
Aside from its new facility in the UK, the automaker has additional studios in Detroit, Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Seoul. Beyond all that, this Corvette concept demonstrates GM’s commitment to the European market. Cadillac is building its electric vehicle sales infrastructure there, and the automaker is even getting ready to sell the Corvette in continental Europe and the UK.
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