Yahoo Autos The 2020 Chevy Corvette C8's Smart Lift Nose Is Pretty Cool
The C8 Corvette will be the first in Corvette history available with a front-axle lift system. It will be optional on 2LT and 3LT versions.
The system will work automatically through GPS for 1000 stored locations.
Future versions of the C8 might use the adjustable front ride height as part of a comprehensive adaptive-aerodynamics capability.
Compared with the relocation of its engine and its new body and structure, new suspension arrangement, and new interior, the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette's new front-axle lift system might seem a pretty minor bit of technology to be trumpeting.
But the system, which raises the nose of the vehicle on command to protect the car from steep driveway approaches and speed bumps, is a first for the Corvette. It's emblematic of the company's desire to make the C8 Corvette the technology equal of vehicles costing many tens of thousands dollars more. And if what we're hearing from our sources is true, Chevy might eventually use the system in a revolutionary way that not only protects the nose, but also improves the performance of future versions of the C8.
The standard C8 Stingray won't have that performance-enhancing capability, but its front-axle lift system is pretty trick. At full extension, the lift brings an additional 40 mm (a little more than an inch and a half) of front ground clearance. And it does so in a brisk 2.8 seconds. The system, which will be optional on 2LT and 3LT trims, operates at speeds up to 24 mph. No shock there; most currently available arrangements on the market have similar performance parameters. The trick with the Corvette's system is that it can be programmed to operate automatically through GPS for a 1000 locations. Do you have speed bumps in your office parking lot like those soiling ours? Well, after raising the nose once, the system will ask if you would like to save that location. Choose yes, and the nose will rise automatically every time you encounter that spot in the future. This is not unheard of; Tesla has the same capability. But it's cool.
Now for the juicy (and as yet unconfirmed) bit. On future, higher-performance versions of the C8, the adjustable-height front end might be used to adjust the car's aerodynamic center of pressure fore and aft. This would be used at high speed in concert with other adaptive aero devices, such as a rear wing that can move up and down and also fore and aft, depending on circumstances.
For now, though, the front-axle lift will be solely for sparing owners from hearing that sickening graunch as the lower nose grinds itself on the concrete.
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