Mid-Engine Vette to Get 7-Speed Dual-Clutch Transmission?

General Motors Co. will use a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission in the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette it’s developing, Car and Driver reports.

The enthusiast magazine says the dual-clutch gearbox will be supplied by Mexico’s Tremec Corp., which acquired the technology through its purchase of Belgium-based Hoerbiger Drivetrain Mechatronics four years ago.

Tremec’s TR-9007 dual-clutch 7-speed has a 9,000-rpm maximum input speed and a 664 lb-ft torque capacity, which C and D notes would accommodate the Corvette’s requirements. The magazine previously has speculated that the car will be powered by a variant of GM’s small-block V-8 engine.

To cut costs and simplify the car’s design, CD suggests, the 7-speed dual-clutch unit likely will be the only transmission offered in the new Corvette.

GM has provided no details about the next-generation car. But a series of recent spy photos show what appears to be a prototype with a mid-engine layout. This would confirm recent reports by C and D, The Detroit News and several other publications, which predict the mid-engine C8 Corvette will debut in 2018.