GM Pulls Covers off Its First Yellow Corvette C8.R
Chevrolet promised that we'd eventually see a mostly-yellow C8.R racer, and now they've finally done it.
Bring Yellow Back
GM pulled the covers off its brand new C8.R Corvette racerback in October. But there was just one problem - it was grey with a few yellow accents. That was a big change from the racer's previous iterations, which featured a prominently yellow livery. However, GM insisted that the number 3 car would bring yellow back, they just weren't ready to show it to us. Now, they've finally unveiled it in the form of this singular photo shared via social media.
Photos: Chevrolet
Flip the Script
The number 3 C8.R, driven by Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia, flips the script with a predominantly yellow paint job with grey stripes. It's quite reminiscent of the C7.R, sporting a few red accents and American flags on the doors and front "hood." And to us, it looks simply glorious. Even though we love the grey car just as much.
Photos: Chevrolet
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Homologation Rules
The yellow car will compete alongside the grey number 4 car, driven by Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTE category. And since the C8.R needs to meet homologation rules, that means we'll soon be seeing a street-legal version of the Corvette packing the C8.R's all-new 5.5-liter flat-plane crank V8.
Photos: Chevrolet
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Race to Street
In racing form, that engine produces a capped 500 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. Obviously, it's capable of much more than that. Especially if the dual-overhead-cam mill also receives a pair of turbos, as recent rumors suggest it will in the next-gen ZR1. For now, at least, we'll be able to listen to what promises to be a seriously glorious-sounding engine wailing around the track.
Photos: Chevrolet
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Coming Soon
And you won't have to wait long for that, either. The C8.R is set to make its racing debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona that starts on January 25. If you were lucky enough to attend the recent Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona, you've already heard it, as the C8.R completed its very first public testing laps at that very event.
Photos: Chevrolet
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Learning Process
Milner, for one, is reportedly very impressed with the car's performance already, as he told Racer.com. "There’s a lot of ‘new’ here, and I’m excited for the fans to finally see this car ‘in the flesh’ and hear it for the first time," he said. We’ve been happy with the progress we’ve made, and happy with the reliability it’s shown in all things that matter. It’s obviously a big change for this team — a whole new platform, a whole new car — so we’re looking to do more testing to learn more about the car and how to make it faster. The more time we get, the more we’ll understand how to make these cars go fast."
Photos: Chevrolet
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Serious Potential
As you'd imagine, we're every bit as excited as they are to see the C8.R in action. It might take a few races to get things 100% dialed in, but this platform packs a ton of potential. And since it's already reportedly pretty close to the fastest established cars out there on the track, it may not be very long before the newest Corvette racer begins to dominate the competition.
Photos: Chevrolet
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