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Chevrolet designers will tell you that they are never done perfecting the Chevrolet Corvette. It is the brand’s halo car, and it is every designer’s dream to create the ultimate vehicle. Just last month, I reported on the all new 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X with 1250 horsepower. Now, GM has revealed the second in a series of three Chevrolet Corvette concepts to debut in 2025. The Advanced Design California Corvette concept was developed by GM’s Advanced Design studios in Pasadena, as part of a global design project. This latest concept reimagines the Corvette with a futuristic, Southern California vibe. The concept is pictured against the stunning California coast.
“Our Advanced Design teams are dedicated to shaping the future, driving innovation, and exploring what’s possible,” said Bryan Nesbitt, vice president of global design. “The California Corvette concept is another example of forward-thinking design. We invited multiple GM studios to envision Corvette-inspired hypercars — the first of which was revealed by our UK studio in March. The California team has now delivered a complementary study that honors Corvette’s legendary performance, while infusing it with their own distinctive vision.”
The California Corvette Concept
The California Corvette concept has a tapered cabin and futuristic cockpit canopy. The Corvette is wide at the wheels with a narrow cockpit. At first glance, it is shaped a lot like the Corvette race car. From some angles, the Corvette concept almost resembles liquid mercury that can shape shift at any moment. The California Corvette concept builds off of classic Corvette proportions but adds supercar lines. GM says “The California Corvette concept, a one-of-one hypercar, blends racing-simulator inspiration with iconic Corvette cues.”
Chevrolet did not reveal much about the vehicle’s propulsion other than saying that it is built on a “T-shape prismatic battery pack – enabling low seating and better airflow around and through the chassis”. It has an active aero spoiler and air brake. The large wheels are staggered for racing, it has 21” front wheels and 22” rear wheels. The wheelbase is 109 inches. Chevrolet did not release any top speed or mileage numbers.
For decades, GM has used the Corvette nameplate to introduce concepts, experimental cars, and prototypes that push automotive design and engineering forward. Chevrolet says it has no intention to produce the California concept but used the project as a blank slate to reimagine what the Corvette could be.
The front-hinged cockpit canopy can be removed, turning the Advanced Design California Corvette concept from a road-going sports car to an open-air track car.
Second Corvette Concept Revealed This Year
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The Advanced Design California Corvette concept is the second of three Corvette concept designs debuting this year. I reported earlier this year about the Corvette concept that was unveiled in England.
“As part of its commitment to staying in Europe, GM opened a new advanced design studio in Royal Leamington Spa, near Birmingham in England. GM revealed a spectacular Chevrolet Corvette EV concept car developed by the UK team. The design is part of a global design project involving multiple studios that will see additional Corvette concepts revealed throughout 2025. At this point, there is no plan to actually build this EV concept car.”
GM’s California Design Center
Many people don’t even realize that GM has a major design center in Pasadena. I was there many years ago for an event hosted by GM’s brilliant former design chief, Ed Welburn. GM appreciates that many design trends start on west coast and uses the Pasadena center as a design “think tank” of sorts to develop design visionaries.
“Southern California has been at the heart of automotive and design culture for a century, and GM has had a deep design presence here for nearly 40 years. We wanted to ensure that this concept was developed through that SoCal lens, but with a global and futuristic outlook. Duality of purpose is the basis of this concept’s design strategy,” said Brian Smith, design director, GM Advanced Design Pasadena. “The defining design aspect is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy than enables the entire upper shell to be removed, transforming the concept from an agile, slick sports car to a lightweight, open-air track car.”
According to GM, the GM Advanced Design center in Pasadena is a 148,000-square-foot campus spread across three buildings. It has a staff of 130. The artists there are experts in design, facilities, operations, sculpting and fabrication. It’s fully equipped for advanced design, development, physical modeling and builds. It plays a key role in GM’s global design network, which spans studios in Detroit, Shanghai, Seoul, the UK and Los Angeles.
Chevrolet Photo
Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.
Follow Mary Conway at @MaryConwayMedia and send her car news tips for future stories.
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Source: torquenews.com
