The First C8 Chevy Corvette Was Actually A Holden

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is one of those machines with a specs sheet so impressive it becomes an instant hit despite how no one working outside of General Motors has gotten to sample how it drives. And although fans already have most of the information needed to fall in love with the C8, one crucial question remains. Namely, what process did GM take to design and build the mid-engined 'Vette and keep it so affordable when it had hardly any experience building such a car before (the Pontiac Fiero doesn't count)?

The answer, as Popular Mechanics details in an extensive look at the C8's development process, lies in a handful of test mules developed by Tadge Juechter, the Corvette's executive chief engineer, and his team. When tasked with building the C8, Juechter's team first went about trying to learn more about mid-engine sports cars by building a test mule.

The problem was that if Juechter's engineers simply built a C7 with its engine in the middle, the world would know what Chevy was up to because no amount of camouflage would have been able to cover up such a dramatic change in engine placement. And since General Motors had no mid-engine car in its lineup to camouflage, the team had to get creative. So Chevy did what it does best when it's in a tight spot, it built a new truck.

That truck, however, was nothing like the Silverado or mid-size Colorado. Instead, it was shaped like an El Camino and given a big Holden badge to fool onlookers into thinking GM's Australian wing was busy building the type of vehicle Australians love, a Ute. Juechter's team affectionately called this first C8 test Ute "Blackjack."