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NEW CORVETTE WILL RACE

The new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette will race - Photo: Supplied

By Bruce Williams

The new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette will race - Photo: Supplied

The new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette will race – Photo: Supplied

There will be a racing version of the new mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette, which will be sold in Australia by Holden.

By MARK FOGARTY

A GTE C8 Corvette aimed at the Le Mans 24 Hours will be on the track from next year.

Later, there could also be a GT3 version eligible to race in the Bathurst 12 Hour, opening up the long-term possibility of a Holden-backed Corvette assault on the Mount Panorama marathon.

It doesn’t take too much imagination to envisage a Triple Eight-run squad of Red Bull Holden Racing Team Corvettes at the 12 Hour early next decade.

Holden will be selling factory made right-hand drive C8 Corvettes from late next year or early 2021.

Initially, the racing version of the mid-engined C8 – an all-American rival to the Ferrari 488 – will be for the GTE class at Le Mans and GTLM in IMSA, including the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours classics.

Likely to be known as the Corvette C8.R, it will replace the front-engined C7.R that has raced successfully since 2014.

Like all racing Corvettes, the C8.R will be powered by a large-capacity naturally aspirated V8.

The C7.R won the GTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2015, completing the “Triple Crown” of endurance racing in addition to class victories at Daytona and Sebring.

Factory backed Chevy Corvette teams have been competing in international GTE and American GTLM endurance racing since the early 2000s.

Developed by GM Racing and factory team Pratt & Miller, the racing version of the new C8 – the first mid-engined Corvette – has been caught testing in camouflage by spy photographers.

But the concealment couldn’t disguise the racer stance and high-mounted fixed rear wing, as well as other racing modifications.

GM insiders have confirmed racing program for recently announced Corvette - Photo: Supplied

GM insiders have confirmed racing program for recently announced Corvette – Photo: Supplied

A GM insider has confirmed to AUTO ACTION that a C8 racer has been developed.

“There definitely will be a race car program,” the informant said.

Whether there will be a GT3 customer racing version for broader international competition is not clear.

But the mid-engined C8 raises Chevrolet’s aspirations for the Corvette and a slightly milder GT3 variant is likely to be considered – if not already decided.

A GT3 version would make the new-generation ’Vette eligible for the Bathurst 12 Hour and other endurance classics like the Spa 24 Hours.

If it happens, a GT3 Corvette C8.R could interest Holden – and certainly Triple Eight – in a factory assault on the Mount Panorama marathon.

The R version of the C8 will use a competition derivative of the standard LT2 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8, revised for racing as the 5.5-litre LT5.

The mid-engined C8 is the first generation of the iconic American sports car to be made for RHD markets like Australia at the dedicated Corvette factory at Bowling Green in Kentucky.

The production C8 is the fastest and most sophisticated Corvette ever.

More extreme versions, including a twin-turbo V8 with electric assistance, are planned.

Production of the C8 is due to begin late this year, with RHD build following in 2020.

Holden will sell the new Corvette – styled under the direction of GM’s Australian global director of design Mike Simcoe – as a standalone model.

Although part of Chevrolet, Corvette barely acknowledges the bow tie brand. The Chevy emblem is only included in the model’s famous flying V badge.

The impending availability of the Corvette fulfils GM’s promise of a “V8 sports car” to replace the locally made high-performance Commodores.

Until the arrival of the Corvette, Holden’s only V8 models are the Camaro SS and LT1 imported and converted with GM sanction by HSV.

HSV’s aligned Supercars team, Walkinshaw Andretti United, wanted to develop a Camaro-bodied V8 racer, but Holden and GM in Detroit have committed to the ZB Commodore for at least the next two years.

After 2021, Holden’s involvement is up for grabs.

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