Blasphemy: A Four-Door Corvette?
While this writer sits at a café directly across the street from one of our nation's largest Corvette dealers, news has broken of a potential addition to the Corvette family. We can see it now: hundreds of people flocking to the dealership to see what all the fuss is about: another set of doors and a backseat.
What we find interesting here isn't that the Corvette could spawn a four-door model. It's that Mr. Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman, isn’t opposed to the idea.
Of course, he may be thinking that if Porsche and Aston can pull it off, so then can General Motors. Whether or not people are willing to buy four-door sports cars seems to be a discussion that was clarified decades ago: in other words, "yes." In fact, more people buy sports sedans than they buy sports coupes. It's not hard to figure out why this makes sense.
But does it make sense for Corvette? Some people think that Lutz's "four-door Corvette" is actually just a metaphorical primer for the forthcoming Impala, itself a rear-wheel drive stormer based on Zeta architecture that should finally give Chevy a serious mid-size car with actual high-performance capabilities.
Or is Lutz actually talking about a real, four-door Corvette? An four-door coupe, done in the style of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, but with a real-world pricing strategy of around $55,000? Anything is possible in the era of Lutz, but this one sounds too far afield for us to consider seriously.
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Comments
JN
Could be the same "4-door" style as the RX-8 or the Saturn Ion Coupe.
CHARLES G.
Good idea, as long as it doesn't look like THAT.
The Stig
Leave the Vette alone. Let the Vette donate its underpinnings to a new Grand Prix, Impala, etc but do NOT call it a Corvette.
Kyle
i thought thats what the CTS-V is for, a vette motor with four doors. Seems like it was just cut into caddy sales.
Jeb
I would be surprised to see GM really try to make something like the 4-door Aston happen...that's too niche. But then again, they've given us some turkeys. SSR, anyone?
I just don't see it considering that GM's got the CTS-V and the new G8 on the way in, both of which have the V8/RWD mission. Can't wait to see a G8 rumble around here.
chris
Dont You F****ng Dare Lutz you Putz!!!
Mark
Nice on the myopic knee-jerk reactions. Jeez. Poke around GM's worldwide sites. Corvette is a standalone brand in most of the world. Would expanding a high-end, presumably profitable global brand be bad? It's not like Lutz suggested replacing the coupe with a sedan.
Mena
GM just LOVES to create the same car multiple times, don't they? The message is clear, you ALREADY have a 4 door Corvette, it's called the Cadillac CTS-V.
Jeff
NO WAY! The vette is only a 2 door and should never see 4 doors! Like Kyle said, if you want a four door, get the CTS-V or STS-V!
charlow
It was a loooong time ago, but I do remember a Road&Track issue with a cover story on a four-door Corvette. Around 1980... rings a bell?
Todd
I personally don't like it. Corvette's are American Supercars thy are not grocery getters. I think the same as Kyle and Jeff if you want a vette motor with four doors go out and buy the CTS-V or the STS-V.
Mark Arnold
Not only is this a bad idea, but I don't see how it would happen with GM already worried about meeting CAFE standards... I mean, isn't even the G8 not totally a 100% guarantee still? Well anyways, a "4-door coupe" would totally devalue the Corvette brand. Like others have said, the last thing GM needs is MORE models.
Ralph
NO. A four door Corvette is an oxymoron. And only a moron would think of doing such a thing. Corvettes are two seat cars. There is no reason to "Thuderbird" the Corvette.
Mark
Talk about myopic, knee-jerk reactions. Jeez. Take a look at GM's global websites. Corvette is a standalone brand in most of the world. Lutz didn't suggest replacing the coupe with a sedan. If I were a stockholder, I'd think the notion of expanding the range of a premium, presumably profitable, global brand would be a very good idea. If builders such as Porsche, Aston and Maserati can pull it off, why not Corvette?
gerry
Fugly and stupid. Bread a dog with a donkey -- pointless pet.
Bernie-Mac
that is the ugliest thing i have ever seen! please gm youve messed up enough in th past few years, dont desecrate the corvette name, one of the only good things you have, by putting 2 more doors on it!
Ath.
What has he been smoking???
¿Tendremos también un Corvette de 4 puertas?
[...] Blasphemy: A Four-Door Corvette? | Vía: Winding Road Escrito a las 8:32 | Envia esta nota por correo electrónico Por Fernando Alvarez | Lee más de: Marcas: GM, Otros: Curiosidades Otros blogs que comentan acerca de esta anotación [...]
Bob Lutz no dice que no a un Corvette de 4 puertas
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DAMurphy
You think that's an ugly Corvette? No, this one's much worse: http://sports.autoblog.com/2007/05/20/a-corvette-sedan-lutz-not-opposed-...
Sam
Only someone like Lutz and GM in general could consider this possibility. Remember the T-Bird?
Build cars people want.
Steve
Like was said above... Lutz, don't you f^%$ing dare. A four door high performance coupe-wanna-be? Sure. Great. A four door Corvette? Blasphemy.
Johnny Rocket
This is just another false rumor like the four-door Mustang. It won't happen. It is important to remind folks GM did conceive a Corvette sport wagon and sedan in the 1950s as a way of improving the vehicle's sales.
Michael
If Lutz is serious about that Corvette , he needs a month at Promises Rehab.
jose teran
what a f**k.... feo como el pecado
Mashud al mamluk
This is terribly good image manipulation of 2 doors,however,iy's lacks logical aesthetic,or rather should I say,the 'photoshopper' has the logic of the US president abd his supporters!.
EPPM
I think this is unreal but I think also that some weird riches will buy it
Richard
Since when does a sports car of this nature deserve four doors!
Ken Ellis
Whoever created that PhotoShop illustration made a common mistake: when you base a 4-door design on an existing 2-door, you don't retain the existing doors and just graft extra ones on behind them. The front doors would be shorter, terminating around the front seatback. The rear door door then fills the remaining space. If you don't do this, you end up with the ungainly mess you see here. (By the way, to see an actual 4-door 'Vette, check out the movie Mystery Men. That's the villain's (Casanova Frankenstein, played by Geoffery Rush) limo.
blk95ta
to whoever was referring to a late 70s vette 4 door, it was called the Corvette America. 5 were built including an orange 1979 prototype that was shown in car mags... here's the one surviving 4 door vette, a 1980 silver one
http://members.aol.com/vette4door/images/corvette4door.jpg
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