There's no question Chevrolet is well underway developing the next generation Corvette, the C8. Although the C7 only launched three years ago, it's time to look ahead as to how America's sports car will evolve. Now, we've heard rumors already regarding the very real possibility of a mid-engined C8 and even a top-of-the-line Zora ZR1, named after "Father of the Corvette" Zora Arkus-Duntov. Thing is, that's all pure speculation and, quite obviously, no one from Chevrolet is saying anything else.

Fortunately, I had a nice chat with Oliver Gavin, Chevrolet's factory racing driver who's had five class wins at Le Mans as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring. He's been with the Corvette Racing program since 2002 and he's also one hell of a nice guy. So we chatted. About cars, racing, differences between the C5, C6, and C7 and, of course, what's in store for the C8. Though Gavin isn't a direct part of the C8's development, he does have a few predictions about what we can expect from the next Corvette. For starters, there'll likely be a "greater collaboration between road and race...and hybrid solutions" shouldn't be ruled out entirely.

Gavin simply doesn't know whether a switch to mid-engine will happen but he did guarantee one thing: a V8. "I can't see there not being a V8 in the next Corvette," Gavin made clear. Regardless of the exact location of the V8 itself, "as long as the V8 remains" the Corvette heritage will live on.