• Chip Foose improves the C8 by making it look more like a Corvette
• Foose says the current car lacks any nods to Corvette history
• Mid-engined cars often come out looking similar due to the engineering behind them

Finally, a car redesign with Chip Foose that doesn’t actually need to happen. We think the C8 Chevrolet Corvette looks great. However, Chip has a little bit of an issue with it. See, the legendary automotive designer doesn’t think the Chevy Corvette actually looks like, er, a Corvette. Instead, Chip says it looks like a Ferrari.

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette looks a lot like a Ferrari

To be fair, we see where Chip’s coming from. Unfortunately, automotive engineers are limited by the laws of physics. That goes for everything from the Ferrari 458 Italia to the new Chevrolet Corvette. And that means that like it or not, the new ‘Vette was going to share some lines with just about every mid-engine sports car out there. Moreover, the new Z06 also shares an engine layout with a Ferrari.

Chip’s big gripe about the C8 is that it looks nothing like a Corvette. He says the ‘Vettes of old were all low and long, especially at the front. That’s owed to their front-engined layout. Obviously, that design lineage, per Chip, always meant you “knew what you were looking at.” Frankly, he’s right, and it’s true the new Chevrolet Corvette isn’t meant to look like any other.

Chip Foose wants to bring old Corvette looks to the C8

While the intent of Chevy’s designers is all well and good, what if things went another way? First, Chip looks to change the proportions of the C8, vis-a-vis the intake. You can see that change in the video thumbnail above. Effectively, Foose takes the front “gills” of the previous C7 Corvette and flips them around to make the vent shape. Admittedly, it does appear to improve the lines of the newest Chevy sports car a little. Now, things have a flow they previously lacked.

Next, the C8’s shape needed to convey the front-engine, rear-drive past of the Corvette a little better. To accomplish that, Foose lowers the car and the windshield rake. In reality, it’s pretty much the opposite trick the Subaru WRX pulls on your eyes. Rather than making it look higher, pulling back the windshield makes the C8 look lower, and a lot less like a Ferrari.

Did Foose fix the 2022 Corvette or ruin it?

You’ll have to watch Chip’s video yourself to see the end result, and it’s certainly worth it. While the C8 Chevrolet Corvette wasn’t necessarily a design that needed to be fixed, Chip’s improvements bring a little more lineage to the newest ‘Vette. “Lineage” and “provenance” are not something the ‘Vette needs, but the design helps to make the new Corvette instantly recognizable as one.