Here’s What the C8 Corvette Grand Sport Should Be

General Motors has officially (re)trademarked the Grand Sport moniker. Conventional wisdom says that any hypothetical GS would slide directly into the gap between the Stingray and Z06, where it has been so prosperous since becoming a mainstream staple of the lineup in 2010. As far as we know, the vehicle earmarked for that highly profitable roster spot is the AWD Hybrid-boosted LT2 model that we have been referring to as “E-Ray” since sightings started over a year ago.

Now that the hallowed GS badge is back in play, we have no choice but to object if the General intends on slapping one of the most historically significant monikers in GM history on a car that is going out of its way to break with Corvette convention by “electrifying” and powering four wheels. According to Friday’s poll of our readers, “E-Ray” is Corvette Nation’s preferred name for this model by a margin of nearly 2:1. But, based on comments, that victory was a hollow one; not reflecting a superior piece of branding, but a lot of opinions that mirror ours, vis-à-vis respecting tradition).

When the C8 debuted, it was billed by its creators as a total moonshot. In hindsight, and with the infinitely impressive flat-plane Z06 as context, the 2020 Corvette almost seems like it was a safe bet, no matter how good that bet turned out to be. If we are truly staring down the barrel of an internal combustion apocalypse and now that we’ve seen what the great Corvette team is truly capable of – with more to come on the high-end – we want so see maximum, Z06-style effort applied to the more attainable trim levels as well before the government and corporate bartenders call closing time on the V8 party!

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