We knew this would be happening, but perhaps not quite so soon. According to The Drive and Bowling Green Daily News, the all-new 2019 Chevrolet Corvette will reportedly begin production on January 29, 2018. That's almost exactly three months from now. The Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has been shut down since late July in order to be re-tooled for the C8. Workers have used the time to go on vacation and/or draw unemployment benefits.

This major upgrade, however, does not mean the existing C7 Corvette's production run is over. Once the factory gets running again, the C7 will return but only for two and a half months. January 22 will be the final day of the C7's life. In the meantime, speculation will undoubtedly continue about the C8. Will it be mid-engined? Oh, definitely. Despite Chevy's repeated refusal to comment, a mid-engined C8 has been one of the worst kept secrets for months now. What engine(s) will be placed directly behind the driver? And what about the C7 ZR1? We've seen plenty of spy shots of that beast testing.

Chances are one of the two will be revealed before Detroit in January, while the other will premiere at the Motor City. Or, Chevy could go big and reveal both the C7 ZR1 and C8 side-by-side. In any case, Zora Arkus-Duntov's mid-engined Corvette wish is finally about to be granted.