[1]Just yesterday, GM finally set an official unveiling date for the next-generation Corvette. It will debut on January 13th, 2013, at the North American International Auto Show. Between then and now, we expect GM to tease the daylights out of us with videos, pictures, and renderings before the final full reveal.
Yet GM has already let some pretty important info slip through, from front ends to a rendering of the entire vehicle. Over at the Corvette Forums [2] comes yet more confirmation that a seven-speed manual transmission will debut on Chevy’s halo car.
A seven-speed manual transmission is an obvious evolution from the six-speed gearboxes that many sports cars currently use, the Corvette among them. Some high end vehicles, including Porsche Panamera, have already started using 7-speed manual transmissions, so why not the Corvette?
A user by the name of Z06Norway made a post on the Corvette Forums claiming to have met a guy who knows a guy who works for well-known transmission maker ZF. This guy claims that the next Corvette is getting a 7-speed transmission from ZF that should weigh on the order of 240 pounds. Checking out ZF’s website, their 7-speed dual clutch transmission [3] can handle up to 9,000 RPM and lots of horsepower… perhaps this is what GM will be going with?
ZF does indeed make a seven-speed transmission, and it can be used in conjunction with paddle shifters as well. Take this information as you will, but there have been plenty of reports about the C7 Corvette getting a 7-speed transmission. The technology is there, so why not use it?