The newest Corvette being released to the market has a very different inspiration behind its design compared to older models.

Tom Peters, the director of design for General Motors performance vehicles, channeled his first experiences with Corvettes while developing the new Corvette Stingray.

"My focus customer was going to be that nine-, 11-, 12-year-old kid," he said in an interview with Forbes. "Kids don't know and don't care about what's traditional."

Peters' vision for the C7 (so-called because it is the 7th generation of Stingray Corvettes) came from his childhood in Minneapolis where a richer friend's dad introduced him to the original Sting Ray, one of two he owned. He further thought of plans for the vehicle when he was hitchhiking at age 13 and got his first ride in one of the collectible cars.

"I got in and my only regret was that I didn't have very far to go," he recalled. "I wanted him to drive me forever."

Some of the design concessions he made in the newest Sting Ray model were made with his younger self in mind, including the new decision to not make the tail lights round on the newer model. The angles are meant to be reminiscent of Jet fighters and robots, which both attract children.

"I will tell you we probably spent as much work on one of those tail lights as we did the whole body side," Peters said. "I think I drove the designers and the sculptors crazy with every little angle."

He also made changes to prevent complaints that the car would be too similar to its predecessors and also assures that everything serves a specific purpose. The new model has various strakes, scoops, and vents on the exterior, and a "dual-element" format for the tail lights with two lenses per side.

Peters does think his ideas for the new design paid off, saying that when he drives down the street he sees his target audience responding.

"When I see those kids look at it and point, stop what they're doing and look down the street, and they go 'Stingraaaay,' that's when I know I got it," he said.

Tags
Cars