Spied! Mid-Engine Corvette Shows Off Digital Gauge Cluster

At this point, we’ve seen lightly camouflaged versions of the mid-engine Corvette from so many angles, we can practically draw the car from memory. So whenever spy photos of the upcoming American supercar cross our desks, we have to ask ourselves, “What’s new?” In this case, it’s the steering wheel and gauge cluster.

Granted, this isn’t the first time we’ve gotten a peek inside the C8. Back in January, our friends at CarScoops managed to get their hands on several shots that showed almost the entire cabin. The design proved controversial, but the materials themselves at least looked more high-end than what you find on the current Corvette. Sadly, much of that was covered up on this prototype, so we can’t tell how much has changed. But at least we can clearly see the instrument cluster.

Instead of physical gauges, it appears that Chevrolet has gone fully digital this time around. In these photos, the tachometer dominates the center of the screen, with a digital speedometer in the center. On the left side, you can see a G-force meter that goes up to 1.25 g, and on the right side, it looks like the display shows either car or infotainment information. But since the entire screen is digital, don’t be surprised if it changes based on the driving mode and allows the driver to customize what information is shown.

This is also the first time we’ve seen the C8’s digital rearview mirror in action. Since rear visibility looks almost nonexistent on these prototypes, we assumed Chevrolet would borrow the camera-fed rear display from Cadillac. And here it is, showing a wide, clear view of what’s behind the car. Hopefully, it doesn’t end up being a distraction while driving.

Like the one we saw before, this prototype has a two-spoke steering wheel. If you look closely, though, you’ll notice that a lot of the details are a little different. The controls for cruise control, for example, aren’t quite the same, and the black plastic on each spoke has a slightly different design. The signal stalks also look a little more downmarket here than they did the first time around. What that means, though, isn’t entirely clear. Maybe the other car was a higher trim level. Maybe this prototype has an earlier version of the interior. You never know with test mules.

It’s also not clear when we’ll actually see the new Corvette. Development delays have reportedly pushed back the C8’s reveal. At this point, we’re thinking it will be a standalone event sometime this summer, but if the reasons behind the delays are as serious as the rumors suggest it could be even later. But hopefully, by the time Chevrolet decides the mid-engine Corvette is ready, engineers will have fixed whatever caused this prototype’s check engine light to come on.

Photo source: KGP Photography

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