Toyota to engineer next-generation Corvette, to be
assembled by GM workers at NUMMI
The Nippon Daily Automotive
By Fuzaketa Yatsu
4/1/05
TOKYO - Word that the next generation Corvette will be
designed and engineered by Toyota has created quite a
buzz in America, the proud country of burgers and
pizza, unilateralist foreign policy and trailer parks.
Engineered to deliver what most Americans crave - the
comfort and familiarity of the Chevrolet Corvette
badge, with the engineering and reliability of a
Toyota, the new Chevrolet Corvette is sure to hit on
all six cylinders and attract a wide base of customers
when it goes on sale at the end of this decade. GM is
reportedly discontinuing engineering on the venerable
Small Block engine design, and giving in to the
public's desire for anything Japanese with dual
overhead cams and a four letter acronym like VVT-i.
"New Corvette is a unique package that will provide
maximum sportiness of the Corvette name, with the warm
feelings of Toyota," said chief of engineering Hidoiyo
Konnahanashi.
For Ben Arnold, Corvette's marketing director, the
car's unique character begins with its melding of the
best of Asian and American traits, with an emphasis on
the Asian. "Riding in the test mules of this new
Corvette is unlike anything I've experienced before.
It's like eating sushi with steak sauce...or peanut
butter. If you can hold back the gag reflex, its
really quite satisfying when it settles in your
stomach."
"When we considered what car buyers might want in the
future, given our shrinking market share, it became
obvious to us that what they really wanted was a
Toyota," Ben said. "Virtually all car buyers would
like to own a Toyota, but most sports car enthusiasts
would rather have a Corvette badge on it. So, in
designing the new Corvette, we tried to go as Japanese
as we possibly could, while leaving some room on the
car for a Corvette emblem or two. The latest Viper's
sheet metal was designed by a Japanese man who used to
work for Toyota, and we've taken that one step
further."
"Of course, the Corvette will be a Chevy at heart -
and all new from the ground up. The Corvette will be
the first North American application of Toyota's next
generation Supra architecture, and will employ a
Toyota-engineered 2.9-liter twin turbocharged engine
with hybrid assist making 500 horsepower and 120
torque at 8900 RPM. It will also get 67 miles per
gallon, and is one of the first Big 3 vehicles to be
officially approved by Hollywood Environmentalists
like Leonardo DiCaprio. He pre-ordered 3 for himself
and for his immediate family once he heard Toyota was
involved."
Rick Wagoner expressed delight during a press
conference after watching the new Corvette perform at
the 12,000-acre proving grounds Toyota operates in
Arizona. "After the success of so equally splitting
engineering efforts on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota
Matrix and Voltz, I knew that the Corvette and Supra
would be the perfect platform for our next project at
NUMMI. Toyota needs an outlet for their workaholic
engineers, and we had to outsource engineering talent
after our latest white-collar job cuts, so it only
made sense for both parties to do this."
The all-new 2010 Chevrolet Corvette will be
manufactured at GM's Fremont, California., assembly
plant. Start of production is targeted for the fourth
quarter of 2009.
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