Mid-engine Corvette to bow with C7?

Mr. Peter DeLorenzo is in the know, or so he talks a good game and has got us wondering whether the Corvette will abandon its tried-and-true front-engine format for a more exotic engine placement between the rear wheels. In his latest issue of the Autoextremist, DeLorenzo clues us all in on a furious debate taking place within General Motors concerning the next-generation C7 Corvette. One side wants to finally make the Vette a mid-engine sportscar, while the other, lets call them traditionalists, argue the car's bang-for-the-buck would be destroyed by such a move. Knowing that the Vette's value as an affordable supercar is one of its main selling points, the outcome of this debate could potentially sink the car's sales.

DeLorenzo has a theory of how this will play out, though. According to him, we should expect the next-gen Corvette to be similar to the current model with a engine up front, but it will be lighter and feature at least two engines: a new, small-displacement aluminum V8 and a updated version of the current V8. Above the traditional "People's" Vette will be an extremely exclusive mid-engine version of the car that will cost six-figures and be produced in extremely low numbers, like 500 or so. Will it happen? Who knows, but we've always wanted to see something like the 1990 Corvette CERV III Concept (shown above) go into production.

[Source: Autoextremist via Jalopnik]