The first Chevrolet Corvette model was born in 1953, with the chassis codenamed C1. The 1953 version of the Corvette C1 uses a hard-axis non-independent suspension. The 1963 Corvette C2 Stingray version was the first Chevrolet Corvette with independent suspension. Since its introduction in 1953, Corvette has been a multi-material car. Going back 66 years, General Motors designer Harley Earl created a sports car design designed to compete with British and Italian designs. In order to save mold costs, GM chose to manually lay out glass fiber composite materials to make all body panels, including floors. Molded Fiber Glass Co., located in Ashtabula, Ohio, was selected to manufacture the body.
Corvette has always been GM's platform for award-winning new materials and new processes, as well as an industry pioneer in the use of composite body panel technology. In 1968, manual layup was replaced by wet compression molding, making the resulting body panels lighter and thinner. In 1973, sheet molding compound (SMC) debuted on automobiles, paving the way for the application of SMC in the entire industry until today. Continuous improvement of SMC also appeared on Corvette. As early as the mid-1980s, GM added hollow glass microspheres to enable the first batch of low-density SMC (specific gravity 1.3, traditional SMC specific gravity 1.9) to be obtained on Corvette floors and other non-appearance parts Eligibility of the application. Since then, the low-density SMC has undergone many iterations and has now entered the stage of mass production applications, including exterior panels for grade A surfaces.
GM`s first application of carbon fiber body panels was the hood on the 2004 C5 Le Mans version, which used an autoclave cured outer panel and an SMC inner panel mixed with glass fiber and carbon fiber. The C6 Z06 model launched in 2006 had carbon fiber fenders, wheel bushings and floors. The ZR-1 version of the same car adds a carbon fiber hood and separator.
At the 2013 North American Auto Show, Chevrolet released a super sports car-Corvette Stingray (Corvette Stingray). The Corvette C7 Stingray ("Stingray" name is derived from the Corvette C2 Stingray version) uses an all-aluminum body and steel plate. Spring-loaded double wishbone front and rear suspension and 6.2L universal LT1-V8 engine.
The 2014 Corvette C7 has been greatly improved both in appearance and interior, especially the interior design has been painstakingly designed and demanding perfection. The interior is made of carbon fiber and the leather seats are all hand-sewn. There is even a large LCD screen, an instrument panel that can be switched at any time, a head-up display function, a multi-function steering wheel, and a cruise mode head-up display system that can display G values. One-click start, interior rearview mirrors, etc., all show a design full of combat atmosphere, telling us that this is really a high-performance sports car. The maximum horsepower is 455p. After the optional sports exhaust, the 460p horsepower and the maximum torque of 621NM. The engine speed active adaptive cruise system traction control system prevents the vehicle from slipping excessively. The exterior mirrors are heated and electrically adjusted, and the driving side is equipped with an automatic anti-glare function.
In terms of technology configuration, head-up displays and other new features are also readily available. Compared to the old Corvette C6, the C7 is a completely new model. The new lightweight frame-type pure aluminum alloy chassis, carbon fiber hood and removable top cover reduce the weight of the vehicle by 45kg. The composite materials of the doors and fenders have also successfully reduced weight by 17kg, so the fuel economy is naturally better. The body size of the C7 is 4496 mm, which is slightly longer than the 4435 mm of the current C6, and the wheelbase is 25mm higher than the 2685mm of the previous generation model, reaching 2710mm. It has better performance than the old model.
Corvette, as a friendly and powerful golden sports car under the GM Group, in terms of power, the Corvette C7 uses a 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine with a maximum power of 335kW (456PS), a maximum torque of 610Nm, and an acceleration of less than 100 kilometers. 4 seconds, this is definitely an amazing result for a super sports car.
As an American national treasure-class sports car, Corvette has a wild atmosphere and is always active on the track. It has shown extraordinary strength in the Le Mans Rally and Indy 500. The dual-mode exhaust system, catapult start, electromagnetic induction suspension It can be said that Corvette is worthy of pride. The 6.2-liter displacement V8 engine makes this golden sports car with a maximum horsepower of up to 455P. After the optional sports exhaust, the 460P horsepower has the largest hub of 621M, which is a natural super imaginary sports car. The price of this car is much lower than those of Europe's high-priced sports cars, but the performance provided is not lost to them at all. Over 60 million sales in 60 years have become the "national sports car" of the United States.
With the introduction of the C7-Stingray, GM equipped all Corvette C7 with a carbon fiber hood and a carbon fiber removable roof, which was extended to the C8, although the C8 reverted to an engine made of low-density SMC cover.
The body frame of the new-generation Corvette Stingray is made of aluminum alloy, which is 45kg lower than the body of the previous generation using traditional steel materials, but the body strength has increased by 57%.
The main frame of the car body of the previous model is manufactured by continuous high-pressure molding, and the thickness is the same. The new Corvette uses a unique high-energy laser welding, which is controlled by a computer and its accuracy can be accurate to 0.03mm. The aluminum alloy body frame is mainly divided into 5 parts, each part can be based on the performance requirements of shape and strength, and the thickness can be Optimized from 2mm to 11mm to minimize body weight.
Corvette is the first passenger car that uses glass fiber reinforced composite leaf springs. Its lateral rear single leaf spring was produced in 1981 using a fiber winding process. For the C4 launched in 1984, GM added a front lateral spring, which can reduce the hood line. This suspension design was implemented through the C7 model and has undergone 35 years of testing.
The early success of Corvette led to the use of composite leaf springs on minivans in 1985, luxury cars in 1986, and the use of composite leaf springs in hundreds from 1988 to the mid-1990s Ten thousand medium-sized cars.
By 2014 Corvette C7, the doors, fenders, and rear guards were made of lighter density materials than the previous generation. The innovative application of these materials further reduces the weight by 17kg. According to the official introduction, based on these lightweight designs, the new-generation Corvette Stingray has a front-to-back weight ratio of 50:50. The suspension system of the new-generation Corvette Stingray has not changed much in structure. It still continues the suspension structure of the previous generation model, that is, the front and rear double wishbone + horizontal single-layer leaf spring suspension system. Although the structure is roughly the same, the new generation of Corvette has a new lightweight design on each component.
If the lower control arm of carbon fiber is used, the weight is reduced by 4kg, and the front toe arm made of aluminum reduces the weight by 1.1kg. These lightweight designs will reduce the unsprung mass, effectively improve the response of the suspension, and further improve the handling performance.
Corvette also pioneered the bumper system, using the first commercial bumper bumper beam made of glass fiber felt thermoplastic (GMT) in 1984. By the 1990s, more than 16% of passenger cars worldwide used GMT-made bumper bumper beams, and many vehicles around the world still use this technology. In 1989, GM adopted Dow’s polyisocyanurate (PIR) and changed Corvette’s bumper beam to structurally reinforced injection molding (SRIM), which brought 115,000 SRIM beams used on GM’s minivans every year. And finally developed the SRIM Pro-Tec carriage for general pickups from 2001 to 2003.
American composite parts supplier plasan carbon composite provided carbon fiber reinforced composite parts for the 2014 Corvette C7.