Look, we love home-built one-off projects. Some of us at MotorBiscuit have some ourselves. We encourage it. But taking a brand new C8 Corvette and doing this to it isn’t what most of us would suggest you do as your next project. 

What is going on here is “different.” But that doesn’t mean it is a good design or even a good idea. And it certainly doesn’t take a new Corvette to achieve your dream, if this is what you would call a dream. 

This C8 Corvette is more of a nightmare than a dream

Not to be mean but this is more of a nightmare than a dream. Sorry, we are always honest at MotorBiscuit. The builder could have started with an older Corvette, or something like an older  Lotus or Toyota MR2 if mid-engine was mandatory. 

The mid-engine proportions are found in most mid-engine cars. The C8 Corvette is not the only one with them. But when taking into account a redesign, you must first ask yourself if what you’re designing is better than what you’re starting with. If it isn’t, then what’s the point? 

There is shock value in desecrating a brand new Corvette. But is that what redesigning a vehicle is motivated by? 

“People see it as a Corvette and I’m destroying something they consider beautiful

The owner and “designer” is Jack Wendel. He told the Drive, “The problem is, people see it as a Corvette and I’m destroying something that they consider beautiful. So from that perspective, you know, I kind of understand it. But they’re not seeing the other perspective: I’m building something and I needed a good platform to start with. What better platform is there than the C8 to start with?”

Well, actually, there are a lot of other good platforms if you consider cost, weight, and ability. What we mean by ability is does Jack have the ability to do modifications worthy of the platform part of the project? He has the inspiration that’s for sure.

He recently purchased Terry Cook’s Deco Rides and Delahaye USA. Terry is notorious for taking coachbuilt designs from the 1930s and applying them to more contemporary cars. If you’re wanting to drive and enjoy your Figoni and Falaschi Delage you can’t in 2021. 

A fiberglass recreation with modern conveniences is the best of both worlds

But a fiberglass recreation on a modern chassis with modern conveniences is a no-brainer. That was Terry’s thinking behind his two coachbuilding companies. As an aside, he was also editor of Car Craft and then Hot Rod magazines. So he’s not a purist.

And yet, he appreciates the classic coachbuilt cars of the 1930s like the most persnickety connoisseur of car collecting. He just doesn’t need the price, caution, and drama that goes with them. And we’re sure that is how Jack feels too.

But starting with a new Corvette is not how you start a project like this. Personal expression is what America is about and we applaud it as we do Jack’s daring. But, this isn’t what you should do to a new C8 Corvette.