C8 Corvette Trunk: Members Weigh in on Cargo Space and Vehicle Size
C8 Corvette has a frunk and a trunk, but some members would rather have seen a shorter rear end and no trunk.
When the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was introduced earlier this year, it came as no surprise that it featured a new mid-engine design and like most mid-engine vehicles, it has a storage space under the hood that has become known as the frunk. Most cars with the engine behind the seats don’t have a storage compartment out back, sticking to just the frunk, but the Chevy engineers managed to add a traditional trunk that is big enough to hold a set of golf bags. More importantly, the rear trunk is big enough to carry the removable top while the frunk is not, so it is almost a point of necessity to include the rear trunk with the removable roof design.
That being said, “C8 Gator” recently posted a thread in the C8 General Discussion section questioning whether the trunk was really needed, as removing it could have shortened the car by more than a foot. Not surprisingly, some people agree that the new Stingray should have been smaller while others point out the need for the extra storage space.
C8 Corvette Trunk Question
When the OP first posted his question to the forum, he included the image above of the engine bay and trunk area of the C8 Corvette Stingray, along with the following thoughts.
“Isn’t the frunk enough? – just thinking Chev could have shortened the car by at least 18″ or so – and lightened it if they didn’t accommodate the damn golf clubs. I plan on driving the C8 alot – I guess I can now leave my pickup at home when I go to Home Depot.”
He also included two pictures of the Audi R8 engine bay that does not have the trunk area, showing how much shorter the C8 could be in theory.
Not surprisingly, those members who replied generally fell into one of two groups – those who agree that the C8 Corvette could have been shorter without a trunk and those who see the need for the extra storage space. For easier reading, we have organized the replies into those two groups, starting with those folks who see the need for the extra length.
Pro-Trunk Fans
The first person to reply was “Buddhaman”, who pointed out why the trunk in the C8 Corvette is there.
Eh, to each his own. The back is basically storage for the top and extra storage when the top is on.
The next person to give the thumbs-up to the rear trunk was “Bill Dearborn”, who sees the functionality as a racer.
I don’t play golf but I like the room in the front and the back for stuff that I might want to carry such as a couple of suit cases, helmet, brake pads, extra quart of oil, brake fluid, cooler, rain gear, etc all for a trip to the track. Only one thing wrong with the engine right behind the occupants is there isn’t any place to put a cooler when on long trips.
The first person to point out an engineering difficulty with removing the trunk space was “Phil1098”, who included this picture of the C8 Corvette with the body removed, showing the rear transaxle and exhaust.
Then what would they have done with the transmission and muffler?
The possible solution to that issue came from “Cenzoooo”.
Muffler stacks up on top of the trannie and flow right out the back. Cuts a good 10/12 inches off the length and gives you space you a great looking set of 180* headers too.
Finally, while many people look at the functionality of the rear trunk, “AzDave47” recognizes the loss of storage space, but he sees it as a reasonable trade-off for the C8 Corvette performance.
Try putting a mounted rear tire in either the frunk or trunk and another in the passenger seat for going to away track events like on my C6Z even if total storage is just a little less than a C7. I drive 400 miles to Mojave airport with my PSS street tires on and then swapped the rears to my R888Rs for the 1.5 mile trap speed event. I also had a bin with tools & spare parts, a floor jack, jack stands, a bucket for cleaning, spare brake pads and front rotors, my helmet and all the safety gear.
I will accept that tradeoff for the increased performance the C8 configuration will deliver.
Anti-Trunk Posts
The first person to post in support of the OP’s idea to shorten the C8 Corvette was “DaveFerrari458”.
Right on OP! I’ve been saying the same thing! If Need to go to the Home Depot I’ll take my Range Rover!
“Armchair Architect” offered an interesting idea of a unique body on the ZR1 version.
Hopefully they come up with an extreme performance version (ZR1) that has a fixed roof and shortened rear/removed rear trunk for lighter weight.
While that seems unlikely right now, “vndkshn” pointed out another advantage of the unique ZR1 rear end.
That would also open up room for center exhaust outlets.
What do you think about the inclusion of a frunk and a trunk in the C8 Corvette Stingray? Do you like the dual storage spaces, or would you have rather seen a smaller overall length? Click here to share your thoughts in the thread.
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