Only in Southern California could someone look at a Corvette and go, “You know what this needs? A canopy like a fighter jet and a track-day alter ego.” That, my friends, is exactly what GM’s Pasadena Advanced Design team cooked up with the new Chevrolet California Corvette Concept. It’s a Corvette—but with palm trees, surfboards, and maybe a green juice shot in its DNA.
This one-off hypercar blends Corvette heritage with SoCal eccentricity. The proportions are classic Corvette: long, low, wide at the hips, and narrow at the cockpit. But the trick feature is the single-piece, front-hinged canopy. Pop it open, and the car transforms from a sleek sports car into a lightweight, open-air track monster. Dual personalities in one fiberglass-dream body.
Inside, it’s all driver focus. Think minimalist, stripped down to only the essentials, with an augmented-reality HUD projecting just the data you need when you’re flirting with triple-digit speeds. Structural elements aren’t hidden—they’re part of the design. It’s racing-simulator chic, only you’re not on a couch with Cheetos dust on your shirt.
The concept rides on a carbon tub with a tunneled underbody, active aero spoiler, and a massive air brake. Wheels are staggered—21 inches at the front, 22 at the rear. A T-shaped prismatic battery pack is “assumed” to be the power source, but GM’s not spilling numbers. Dimensions? 1,051 mm tall, 2,184 mm wide, and 4,669 mm long, riding on a 2,767 mm wheelbase.
No production intent, no price tag, just pure design indulgence. And to be honest, isn’t that the most Californian thing about it?
Images: Chevrolet.