In many ways it’s surprising we don’t hear about things like this more often. If you’re a vehicle engineer we’re sure they get the urge to test out the fruits of their efforts. It seems that’s exactly what happened not far from the home of the Corvette’s manufacturing plant. Two engineers were arrested in two separate 2020 Corvettes for exceeding the posted speed limit a minimum of 26 mph. Yeah, they were drag racing new Corvettes.

We don’t know how fast these two GM engineers, out for a speed race, were going. That’s because in Kentucky the arresting officer only needs to show an excess of 26 mph for a posted speed. That means the arrested GM engineers could have been racing at much faster speeds than 26 mph over the posted speed limit. Arrested on Lovers Lane, the posted speed for that stretch is 45 mph.

The GM engineers were arrested for reckless driving, racing motor vehicles on a public road, and speeding

Kentucky State Police stopped Alexander Thim and Mark Derkatz and arrested them according to Automobile magazine. The charges were reckless driving, racing motor vehicles on a public road, and exceeding the posted 45 mph speed limit by at least 26 mph. Thim is a computer-aided engineer that works on induction and exhaust systems. Merkatz is an electrical engineer. 

Problems with engineers testing C8 Corvettes continue to plague GM. Back in August 2019, a blue C8 Corvette was totaled after colliding with an SUV. This happened in Yosemite National Park in California during a Corvette Caravan event.

Then in November, another 2020 Corvette crashed

Then in November 2019, a gray metallic C8 Corvette crashed on I-75 in Michigan during the season’s first snowstorm. Images of it facing the wrong direction against a bridge abutment went viral. Passersby posted images on social media of the C8 covered in snow awaiting retrieval. 

Could this all just be a cheap way to get some publicity? After all, these are all pre-production models so they will have to be crushed at some later date. Naw, we’re just kidding.

In a statement to The Drive a representative from GM “confirmed an incident involving our test vehicles.” It also said it is doing further investigation. “Safety remains our overriding priority at General Motors,” the representative said. “We have no further comment at this time.” 

Lovers Lane is a wide stretch of highway with two lanes going each way and a wide median for making turns. After their arrest, the two C8 Corvettes were impounded. GM representatives had to retrieve them from a towing yard the next day.

2020 Corvettes and mayhem seem to be synonymous

Look, it just must be too tempting to squeeze the trigger on these C8 Corvettes. With only a few pre-production copies spinning around for testing purposes to have this many involved in mayhem says something. What, exactly, it says we’re not sure. But the sense of speed must either be effortless-which we’re sure it is, or the temptation just too much to restrain.

Just imagine what the nation’s highways and byways will be like once actual unseasoned owners are overtaken by whatever it is that happens once you’re in the seat? For their own sake, we would recommend a mandatory period of a governor engaged electronically. Then after a certain amount of time the governor can be released over-the-air by GM. This way the owner can at least become somewhat familiar with it before he smacks it into a house or another car. 

Just saying…