home team in Warren, Michigan just unveiled a duo of wild Corvette concepts. The Corvette CX Concepts made their debut at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in California, representing the final entries in GM’s global design studio showdown that’s been unfolding throughout the year. While previous concepts from the UK and Pasadena studios pushed boundaries, the Warren team’s creation feels like the most production-feasible glimpse into America’s sports car future.
The CX Concept carries significant weight as the apparent front-runner among the three designs. According to Executive Design Director Phil Zak, this latest creation will “serve as inspiration for the Corvette design language going forward,” making it more than just another design exercise. The “X” designation represents the Roman numeral for 10, hinting at a potential C10 generation Corvette that could arrive sometime in the 2030s. Unlike its international siblings, the CX maintains stronger visual DNA ties to current Corvette styling while dramatically amplifying the performance envelope. The other concept, however, is a completely different beast.
The Street-Ready CX Concept Redefines Electric Performance
The standard CX Concept represents GM’s vision for a road-going electric hypercar that maintains Corvette’s accessible performance philosophy. This all-electric variant features four individual motors – one at each wheel – drawing power from a 90-kilowatt-hour battery pack to deliver a staggering 2,000 horsepower. The quad-motor setup enables precise torque vectoring at each corner, potentially revolutionizing how American sports cars handle compared to traditional rear-wheel-drive configurations.
The concept’s most striking feature is its fighter jet-inspired canopy system that replaces conventional doors. The entire front section, including the hood and roof panels, tilts forward as one piece to provide access to the cabin. Inside, drivers face a yoke-style steering wheel surrounded by an Inferno Red interior featuring leather, milled aluminum, and carbon fiber accents.
Rather than traditional displays, the windshield itself serves as a massive head-up display, while all vehicle controls integrate directly into the steering wheel. This minimalist approach eliminates the center touchscreen entirely, creating a cockpit that feels more like a modern aircraft than a conventional automobile.
The CX.R Vision Gran Turismo Brings Racing DNA to Life
The track-focused CX.R Vision Gran Turismo variant takes a dramatically different approach with its hybrid powertrain designed specifically for gameplay. At its heart sits a compact 2.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine that produces 900 horsepower while revving to an astronomical 15,000 rpm – nearly double the redline of current production engines. This powerplant is combined with a hybrid system that includes three electric motors and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission to achieve the same 2,000 horsepower total output as its electric sibling.
The CX.R’s aggressive styling includes more pronounced active aerodynamics, a lower ride height, massive front splitters, and a substantial rear wing. The iconic Corvette Racing black-and-yellow livery emphasizes its competition heritage, while the interior swaps the standard model’s red leather for suede and raw carbon fiber elements.
Enhanced racing seats with pronounced bolsters and integrated head-and-neck restraint systems underscore the CX.R’s track focus. The hybrid system’s use of synthetic fuels could enable extended endurance racing sessions that pure electric powertrains currently cannot match, making it a potential glimpse at future Le Mans competitors.
Read the full article here