GM's New UK Design Studio Reveals Electrifyingly Wild Corvette Concept

To commemorate the opening of a new General Motors advanced design studio in Birmingham, England, the design team there has revealed a wild Corvette concept vehicle. The design looks far into the future while taking styling cues from the past. The car is meant to be electric-powered, mid-engined (or motored, as is the case), smooth as a river stone, 3D-printed, and will likely never be put into production.

How would international designers pen an American icon? This apparently is the exercise General Motors has assigned to its design studios around the world. The first fruit comes from the newly commissioned British facility in Royal Leamington Spa, with the design team revealing a futuristic Corvette that looks clean and distinct. Look hard enough and you'll see obvious hints of Corvette heritage—the most obvious is the split front and rear windshield (from the front three-quarter view, it's almost looks like a '63 Sting Ray roof rotated 180 degrees). There's also the mid-engine proportions and wide rakish stance linking to C8 Corvettes.

Much of the lower half of the car as well as the structure, however, borrows from the aviation industry. Michaei Simcoe, VP of global design at GM, clarified in a press release that the 1963 Sting Ray cue goes beyond style, but that "this feature emphasizes a singular vertical central spine that is also a structural element, also providing a panoramic view of the road and surroundings.

Indeed, the cabin, which ought to be small-ish and compact for a car of this proportion, is airy and seems downright spacious. Since the car is electric, the battery cells are embedded into the structure, offering space, rigidity, and aerodynamics an equal measure. GM boasts that air channels in the lower half are so effective that there's no need for extraneous spoilers and wings in most driving conditions. However, in full sent, the concept has dorsal fins and spoiler vents that boost cornering ability.

This British 24,584 square foot advanced design studio houses up to 30 designers and is led by Julian Thomson.. Thomson is credited for designing the Lotus Elise S1, the Land Rover Evoque, and Jaguar C-X75 concept, among others.