Word is leaking out that General Motors Co. is about to make a "subbrand" out of its Corvette sports car, which could mean four-door cars and crossover vehicles carrying the Corvette badge.
As first reported by Car and Driver: "Starting in 2025, GM plans to launch a Corvette brand that will also include a sleek four-door coupe and a brawny crossover. Both of these future new Vettes will be EVs.
"Sports cars are useful image builders and sometimes very profitable, but as Porsche proved in the early 2000s with the Cayenne SUV, there's a lot of profit to be made stretching the brand into other vehicle segments," Georg Kacher wrote.
My question is whether a Corvette SUV would still have a composite body.
From the very beginning, the Corvette has been an icon not only for sports cars but also the plastics industry, thanks to Richard Morrison of Molded Fiber Glass Cos., who convinced GM it would work. The car first had a fiberglass body, added sheet molded compound as technology changed and now is a big user of carbon fiber. So let's hope they don't forget the Corvette's composite heritage while they chase down new buyers.