GM has filed a patent for a new GT logo, which seems to confirm at least part of the leaked information from earlier this week.
Recently we learned of some newly leaked information over on a Corvette enthusiast forum that suggested some pretty amazing things. First, the base-model mid-engine Corvette would be called the Manta Ray and have a modified version of the current 6.2-L LT1 V8 engine producing 520 hp. That’s up from 460 hp it currently produces in the C7 Stingray.
We also learned that there would be two more Corvette models introduced after the Manta Ray debuts in 2020. They would be called the Grand Sport and the Grand Tour, with the latter being co-developed with Cadillac’s design team to make it as quiet and comfortable as automotively possible.
It would be powered by Cadillac’s 4.2-L twin-turbo V8 that we’ve heard is under development, which sound plausible given the mid-engine nature of the C8 ‘Vette and how its European competition all sport similarly sized twin-turbo engines.
The rest of the leak sounds like childish hyperbole, which makes us question its veracity. However, one piece of evidence supporting the leak has cropped up on another C8 Corvette forum, which might mean the whole thing is true after all.
RELATED: MID-ENGINE CORVETTE: 'INSIDER' LEAKS TOP SECRET INFORMATION FOR UPCOMING C8
From the MidEngineCorvetteForum (by way of Motor1) comes the discovery of a patent GM filed back in 2016 for a “GT” logo. The patent was filed around the same time as an engine hatch cover that could only be used on something like a mid-engine sports car, so combined with news of a Grand Tour trim, this is as good as it gets to finding a smoking gun.
We haven’t seen anything crop up about a GS logo for the Grand Sport trim, but it might be taking GM’s marketers a little longer to work on something as flashy as the GT logo.
GM is still being awfully quiet about the C8’s big reveal. We thought it might be next January in Detroit, but with Ford unveiling the Shelby GT500 at the same time, they might be putting it off to a later car show so as not to dilute the C8’s debut.