General Motors has trademarked a new name that could be for the upcoming mid-engined Corvette.

Obviously, the upcoming C8-generation Corvette will still be called the Corvette, but there are still plenty of trim levels that could have their own unique name. We’re not sure if GM is willing to give up its Z prefix to the higher performance models, but down at base-level trims, we could see something a little more like Stingray or Grand Sport.

One name that has been uncovered by a super-sleuth over at MidEngineCorvetteForum.com stands out: ZORA.

Before we go into details: yes, ZORA is always spelled with all capital letters. That’s the way it was registered in multiple countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, China, Japan, Korea, and Australia. The font used was Times New Roman, but we’re hoping that GM changes it by the time it’s used on any vehicles.

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ZORA was trademarked way back in 2014 and 2015. The name honors the very first Corvette chief engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, who spent most of his career fighting to make a mid-engined Corvette to compete with GM’s European rivals. He managed to make a single prototype in 1964 called the XP-819, but the project was soon shelved in favor of yet another front-engined design.

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via CorvetteBlogger

It would be a great tribute to name the C8 Corvette after the man that so fervently wished to see one in his lifetime. Also, his signature was amazing and would make a great nameplate for a car.

Now, the name ZORA could just be a precautionary move by GM to ensure that nobody else snags the trademark. They might not have any intention of actually using the name on anything, let alone the C8 ‘Vette.

But if they do use ZORA, it would make a great name for a trim level. The only question remains: would it be better as a higher level trim or a base-level? Or maybe even a special edition model to introduce the mid-engine Corvette at launch?

We’re still at the camo-covered phase of development, so any answers will have to wait a while yet.

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