Category: C9 Corvette

The CX matters to C8 owners for one reason: Chevrolet put in writing that it shapes what the next Corvette looks like. I plan to buy a C9, so this is the closest look any of us has at it. Every spec below comes from Chevrolet’s press release. For what has been reported about the actual C9, see the C9 Corvette hub.

Corvette CX specs

The Corvette CX has four electric motors, one at each wheel, making more than 2,000 horsepower combined. It uses a 90-kWh lithium-ion battery mounted in the chassis for a low center of gravity, with all-wheel drive and four-wheel torque vectoring. Its roofline is under 41 inches tall.

Design features GM says will carry forward

Chevrolet’s line on the CX is that it is “not intended for production” but will inform Corvette design language. Phil Zak, executive design director for Chevrolet, put it this way:

“Through this exercise, we’ve added to Corvette and defined the design direction for Corvette moving forward.”

Phil Zak, executive design director, Chevrolet

• Canopy: a fighter-jet style canopy that opens forward and rises as the driver approaches, developed with the GM Motorsports Aero Group.
• Vacuum Fan System: fans pull air through open channels in the bodywork to create downforce and manage flow over the rear diffuser.
• Active aero: an active front diffuser and rear wing, plus wing-shaped suspension A-arms that reduce front lift.
• Interior: Inferno Red ballistic textile seats, silicone leather, milled aluminum and low-gloss forged carbon, with a digital windscreen that shows live performance data and major controls on the steering wheel.
• Where it was built: designed and built at the Chevrolet Performance Studio at GM’s Warren Technical Center.

Is the Corvette CX the C9?

No. The CX is a concept, and Chevrolet has said it is not for production. Two things connect it to the C9:

• Chevrolet says it defines the design direction. That is the official link, and it is about styling, not the electric powertrain.
• The “leaked C9” was the CX. In June 2026 Chevrolet told Motor1 that the car glimpsed in an NBC News segment with GM CEO Mary Barra was the CX concept, not the next-generation Corvette.

Do not read the four-motor electric drivetrain as a C9 spec. The reported C9 keeps a pushrod V8, and Tony Roma, GM’s Corvette chief engineer, said in October 2026 that a fully electric Corvette is coming “someday” but “not today.” He also said concepts are design exercises rather than previews of the next car. Full quotes are in what Tony Roma said about the next Corvette.

How much does the Corvette CX cost?

It has no price because it is not for sale. The CX is a one-off design concept. If you want the closest thing you can buy, the 2027 ZR1X pairs a twin-turbo V8 with a front electric motor for 1,250 hp and starts at $227,695 including destination.

Can you drive the Corvette CX?

Only virtually. Chevrolet built both concepts with Polyphony Digital, and said at the reveal that the CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo would be drivable in Gran Turismo 7 later in August 2025.

FAQ

Related posts

Sources: Chevrolet Pressroom, August 15, 2025, Motor1, The Drivecast with Tony Roma.

Every quote on this page comes from Tony Roma on the record: The Drive’s Drivecast published October 14, 2026, The Drive’s follow-up stories on the electric Corvette and the Z06X, and his March 2026 comments at Sebring. No anonymous sources, no rumor mill. I own a C8 ZR1 and plan to buy a C9, so these are the answers I wanted too. The bigger C9 picture lives on the C9 Corvette hub.

Who is Tony Roma?

Tony Roma is the executive chief engineer for Chevy Corvette and Performance Cars at General Motors. He leads the engineering program behind the C8 lineup, including the ZR1 and ZR1X. On the Drivecast he said “there’s probably six or seven hundred people that charge their time against Corvette” at GM.

Will the Corvette get a manual transmission?

Not as things stand. The C8 is sold only with an 8-speed dual-clutch, and Roma will not commit to a manual for the next car. On the Drivecast he said:

“I love manual transmissions, I would love to do it. I just don’t know if we can make it make sense.”

Tony Roma, The Drivecast, October 14, 2026

His reason is cost. The front-engine C5, C6 and C7 could offer a manual because the transmission already existed. A mid-engine Corvette would need an all-new manual transaxle designed, validated and emissions-certified for it, for a slice of buyers that, by the team’s own account, had shrunk.

The Tremec 6-speed transaxle, and why Roma called it “not real”

Tremec announced a 6-speed manual transaxle in October 2025 and showed it at SEMA. Tremec’s own release rates it at about 800 lb-ft and 1,000 hp input, says it keeps the packaging and mounting points of the C8’s TR-9080 dual-clutch, and pitches it at custom builds. It never said the part was coming from the Corvette factory.

At the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 2026, Roma shut down the idea that it was a C8 option: “Tremec showed something at SEMA last year that I wish they wouldn’t have shown, that is not real.” He added, “We don’t have any plans to talk about a manual transmission,” and “The car is faster and essentially better with the transmission we make.” Corvette engineer Josh Holder explained manual demand fell late in the C7 generation: “The market was voting with their wallets, and we didn’t get enough votes.” Tremec declined to comment on the remarks.

Is an electric Corvette coming?

Yes, eventually, and GM will not say when. GM’s Mark Reuss said on CNBC in 2022 that GM would build electric Corvettes. Four years later none has appeared. Roma did not walk that back:

“Someday we will fully electrify Corvette. But not today.”

Tony Roma, The Drivecast, October 14, 2026

He also told The Drive: “The electric cars are the end game, so someday there will be an electric Corvette,” and “I’m not going to take anything away from Mark’s statement, it stands on its own.” Note the wording: today’s Corvette hybrids, the Grand Sport X and ZR1X, already pair a V8 with a front electric motor. “Fully electrify” is the step GM has not dated.

Will there be a Corvette Z06X?

Possibly, and it would not be cheap. A Z06X would pair the Z06’s 5.5-liter flat-plane LT6 with the front electric motor already used in the Grand Sport X and ZR1X. Roma told The Drive on October 15, 2026:

“It would have to end up being almost ZR1 money for a car with a different kind of performance envelope, right?”

Tony Roma, The Drive, October 15, 2026

He said “I think it could make sense” and, on whether GM could build it, “yes.” He also said: “Obviously, you predicted my answer is I’ve got nothing to announce today.” For scale, the 2027 Z06 starts at $121,695 and the ZR1 at $197,495, both including destination. Roma said he turns the question around on customers: “would they buy one?”

He also said the team “always had the ZR1X in mind” while developing the E-Ray, and called the ZR1X “just phenomenal to drive: 8.67 in the quarter-mile.”

What Roma said about the C9 and the rest of the C8

• The C9: “The C9 needs to be a Corvette at its core.” That means a V8 sports car people recognize as a Corvette, not a reinvention.
• The C8: “we’ve got runway left on C8, so stay tuned.” No finale or final edition has been announced.
• Screens stay: “I don’t see us going back to like all analog gauges and getting rid of all the screens anytime soon.”
• The Z06: “the Z06 is the spiritual center of the Corvette lineup.”
• Zora: on the name rumors, “we renewed the trademark for Zora” and “We tell our story when it’s time.”
• The X badge: the Grand Sport X takes over from the E-Ray, and “X” now marks the all-wheel-drive hybrid system rather than a separate model line.

FAQ

Related posts

Sources: The Drivecast with Tony Roma, The Drive on the electric Corvette, The Drive on the Z06X, The Drive on the Sebring comments, Tremec.

This is the follow-up question everybody asks once they learn the C9 is coming: do I buy a C8 now or sit tight? I have owned four C8s, a Stingray, two Z06s and the ZR1 I drive now, and I plan to buy a C9 when it lands. So I have skin in this. Below is what GM has actually said, what has only been reported, and how I would make the call. For the full C9 timeline, engine and price picture, see the C9 Corvette hub.

C8 vs C9: what we actually know

The C8 column is fact. The C9 column is either a GM quote or a report from unnamed sources, and it is labeled that way.

The C8 Stingray started at $59,995 including destination when 2020 pricing was announced in August 2019. The 2027 Stingray 1LT is $73,795. That is a $13,800 climb, or about 23%, over the life of one generation. MotorTrend’s C9 base estimate of $78,000 would sit about $4,205 above today’s C8 Stingray.

What Tony Roma said that matters for this decision

Tony Roma is GM’s executive chief engineer for Corvette and Performance Cars. On The Drive’s Drivecast on October 14, 2026 he gave three lines that bear directly on buy-now-or-wait:

“We’ve got runway left on C8, so stay tuned.”

Tony Roma, The Drivecast, October 14, 2026

“The C9 needs to be a Corvette at its core.”

Tony Roma, The Drivecast, October 14, 2026

• The C8 is not done. “Runway left” means more C8 news before the C9. Nothing has been announced, but GM is not winding the car down.
• The C9 is not a reinvention. A Corvette “at its core” plus Roma’s comments that the team is not chasing Ferrari or Lamborghini point to an evolution of what you can buy today.
• No manual is coming to save you. If you are waiting for a stick, Roma said he loves manuals but does not know if GM can make the business case. More on that in what Tony Roma said about the next Corvette.

Reasons to buy a C8 now

• The whole lineup exists today. Stingray, Grand Sport, Grand Sport X, Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X are all on the 2027 order guide. On a new generation you get the base car first and wait years for the rest.
• The 2027 car is the most developed C8. It gets the new 6.7-liter LS6 with 535 hp, and it carries six model years of fixes. I cover what broke on my own cars in C8 problems by year.
• Prices only went one way. Up 23% across this generation. Waiting has not historically saved Corvette buyers money.
• Three years is a lot of driving. If the reported summer 2029 date holds, waiting means close to three seasons without the car.

Reasons to wait for the C9

• You want the newest design. The CX concept is the design direction GM has put on record. See the Corvette CX concept explained.
• You buy early in a generation on purpose. Some owners want a first-year car for the experience or the collectibility.
• You are cross-shopping a base Stingray and can be patient. The base car is the first variant a new generation gets, so it is the one where waiting costs the least.

The variant gap: how long the C8 took to fill out

This is the part most “should I wait” answers skip. A new Corvette generation launches with the base car. The high-performance versions come years later. Here is how the C8 rolled out by model year:

GM has not said the C9 will follow the same order. But if it does and the C9 is a 2030 model, a C9 Z06-class car would not show up until the 2033 model year on the C8 pattern. If you want Z06, ZR1 or ZR1X performance, the C8 is the only way to get it this decade.

Who should buy now and who should wait

FAQ

Related posts

Sources: The Drive, Drivecast with Tony Roma, MotorTrend C9 report (July 2026), 2020 Stingray pricing, Chevrolet.com.

Every number on this page is labeled as either something GM has said on the record or something an outlet has reported from unnamed sources. That split matters, because a lot of C9 coverage blurs it. I own a C8 ZR1 and have owned two C8 Z06s and a Stingray, and I plan to buy a C9, so I am tracking every confirmed detail as a future owner. This page gets updated as GM confirms details.

What GM has actually confirmed about the C9

Almost nothing, officially. GM has not named the C9, shown it, priced it or dated it. What GM has put on the record points at it from the side:

• The Corvette CX concept sets the design direction. Chevrolet revealed the CX and the track-only CX.R Vision Gran Turismo at The Quail on August 15, 2025, and said in its press release that neither is meant for production but both will inform Corvette design language for years to come.
• The “leaked C9” from the Mary Barra interview was the CX. In June 2026 Chevrolet told Motor1 that the car glimpsed in an NBC News segment with GM’s CEO was the CX concept, not the next-generation Corvette.
• GM is still investing in the small-block V8. In January 2023 GM committed $918 million to four US plants for its sixth-generation Small Block V8, including $579 million at Flint Engine Operations. The new 6.7-liter LS6 already went into the 2027 Stingray and Grand Sport.
• A manual is unlikely. Tony Roma, GM’s executive chief engineer for Corvette, said on The Drive’s podcast that engineering a manual for the mid-engine transaxle would cost too much for the number of buyers who would choose it. He was talking about the Corvette in general, not the C9 by name. His full comments, plus what he said about an electric Corvette and a Z06X, are in Tony Roma on the next Corvette.
• GM’s Corvette chief engineer has named the C9. On The Drivecast on October 14, 2026, Roma said: “The C9 needs to be a Corvette at its core.” In the same interview he said “we’ve got runway left on C8, so stay tuned.”

What has been reported (not confirmed by GM)

These come from outlets citing their own sources. Newest first; where two reports disagree, both are shown.

The two timelines differ by one model year. GM Authority’s 2023 report said a 2028 debut for model year 2029. MotorTrend’s July 2026 report, the newer of the two, says production in 2029 for model year 2030. Full report: MotorTrend’s C9 preview.

C9 Corvette release date: how the timeline lines up

The C8 is the best yardstick. Chevrolet revealed it on July 18, 2019, and the first 2020 cars came off the Bowling Green line in early February 2020, roughly seven months later. Apply the same gap to a 2029 production start and you get a reveal in the second half of 2028.

• August 2025: Corvette CX and CX.R concepts revealed (confirmed).
• 2027 model year: Grand Sport and Grand Sport X arrive, filling out the C8 lineup (confirmed).
• Late 2028: C9 public reveal (reported).
• 2029: production starts, cars on sale around summer (reported).
• 2030: first C9 model year (reported).

That would give the C8 ten model years, 2020 through 2029. The C7 ran 2014 to 2019 and the C6 ran 2005 to 2013.

C9 Corvette engine: what to expect

The base C9 engine is most likely already in showrooms. The 2027 Stingray and Grand Sport switched to the 6.7-liter LS6, which makes 535 hp and 520 lb-ft and pairs with the eight-speed dual-clutch. MotorTrend expects that combination to carry into the base C9.

The hybrids are the part to watch. The C8 already runs one front motor on the Grand Sport X and ZR1X, and MotorTrend expects a C9 hybrid could add a second. A fully electric Corvette is not expected at launch. The CX concept’s four-motor EV setup is a design study, not a C9 spec.

On the gearbox, the dual-clutch is the safe bet. Roma’s comments on The Drive’s podcast make a three-pedal C9 look unlikely, mainly because a manual would need an all-new transaxle for a small slice of buyers.

C9 Corvette price: what will it cost?

MotorTrend’s estimate is $78,000 to $220,000. Set that next to what a C8 costs today and the range reads differently.

C8 prices are 2027 MSRP including the $2,495 destination charge, after Chevrolet’s $300 increase of September 28, 2026.

The low end of the estimate is about $4,200 above today’s Stingray. The high end is about $7,700 below today’s ZR1X. Our read: the base figure is plausible, but $220,000 looks low for a C9 flagship that arrives years later than a C8 that already costs more. Treat the top of the range as a guess, not a ceiling. For how C8 prices moved, see the ZR1X price history.

Is the Corvette CX concept the C9?

No. Chevrolet has said the CX is not going into production, and it is built around hardware no road Corvette is expected to use. It is, by every report, the shape the C9 will borrow from.

• Four electric motors, one per wheel, for more than 2,000 hp with four-wheel torque vectoring.
• A 90-kWh battery mounted in the chassis.
• A roofline under 41 inches and a forward-opening, fighter-jet-style canopy instead of doors.
• A fan system that pulls air through the body for downforce, plus an active front diffuser and rear wing.
• The CX.R Vision Gran Turismo track version: a 2.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making up to 900 hp and revving to 15,000 rpm, plus three motors, for 2,000 hp total.

Both were designed at the Chevrolet Performance Studio in Warren, Michigan. What carries over, per MotorTrend’s sources, is the look: the long, low nose, the horizontal chine line and the dual-element taillights, softened for production. The full CX and CX.R spec sheet is in the Corvette CX concept explained.

Should you buy a C8 now or wait for the C9?

It depends on which Corvette you want, because the C9 will not arrive all at once. The C8 shows how a generation rolls out:

If the C9 follows that pattern, a buyer who wants a C9 Z06 or ZR1 is looking at the early 2030s, not 2029. Someone who wants a base car with the new body has the shortest wait.

C9 Corvette FAQ