I just finished reading “Corvette Stingray: The Mid-Engine Revolution” by Mark Reuss, and beyond learning more about the engineering in the C8 Corvette, I also realized there’s a lesson to be learned about reinvention.

By now, most of us have likely heard how amazing the C8 is, how it punches above its weight and how we should’ve gotten one sooner. On that last point, I felt the same way after watching the official unveiling in July 2019.

Sure, I knew about all of the work that had gone into the car, but some part of me kept saying, “we should have had this years ago.” Eventually that feeling faded, and after I read Reuss’ book I had a better understanding of why it didn’t happen sooner and why that might’ve been a good thing.

Zora Arkus-Duntov, aka “The Father of the Corvette”, envisioned the C8 way back in the 1950s. If it had been up to him, General Motors might have put one together to sell to the public 60 or 70 years ago. However, budget and technology constraints relegated those wishes to experimental vehicles.

It’s interesting to think about what a mid-engine Corvette would’ve encompassed in any of the other generations. I think the C5 is a fantastic car, but a mid-engine Corvette using the materials and methods available at the time? It would be nowhere close to what the C8 offers. Granted, the C8 benefits from 25+ years of development, but that’s my point. Sometimes things “happen” when they’re supposed to.

The C8 is such a radical departure from the C1-C7 cars, yet it’s precisely where Arkus-Duntov thought the Corvette should’ve been headed all those years ago. This car in particular should serve as example to all of us that if there’s a change we want to make, we can do it. Yes, it might take longer than we expect, but just remember it took 67 years to reinvent an automotive icon.