Recently at the Chicago Auto Show, General Motors unveiled five vehicles that will be characters in the new “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen” movie. 

• Bumblebee the Camaro returns for the sequel
• Skids, a Chevy Beat concept
• Mudflap, a Trax concept
• Jolt is a modified version of the Chevy Volt
• Sideswipe, the Corvette Stingray concept

The Stingray concept gathered the most attention. The design had been kept top secret for more than two years, according to GM’s vice president and chief designer Ed Welburn. This concept vehicle combines the current Corvette design with the original 1963 split rear window Stingray. 

From the side, the concept shares a lot of the same bodylines you’ll find on a new Corvette. Both have distinct lines that flow over the wheels and end on the door. You will notice that the concept B pillar is laid back at the same angle as the windshield. On the factory Corvette, the B pillar is vertical. This angled pillar really gives the impression that the car is speeding along even though it’s standing still. 

In the front, both the factory and the concept share the hood bulge and lower grill. The Stingray concept does away with the running lights and replaces them with vertical air intakes. It should also be noted that since this is a concept car, the headlights are almost non-existent.

The rear end of the car is where the designers and engineers at GM went for the radical changes that really make this vehicle a concept car. As stated before, the rear windshield is a split window design similar to the original 1963 Corvette Stingray, except that the concept car eliminates the soft lines of the ’63 Stingray, replacing them with the hard, bold lines around each window of the concept. 

Also, the factory and concept share a four-port exhaust. The concept Stingray integrates the exhaust into the rear panel, while the factory tucks them up underneath the rear end. Similar to the front end, the lighting on the rear end is more for show rather than for visibility. The signature four-light brake lights of the current generation Corvettes are present, except they are hidden behind metal grates and reside in jet-exhaust-like ports on either side of the car. Missing are the reverse lights and the third brake light. 

Ok, so officials at General Motors have said there are no plans to build this concept version of the Chevrolet Corvette. I think they left out one key word – yet. Sure, the lighting would never pass DOT regulations as is. So what. Make the headlights bigger, slap some side markers, third brake and reverse lights on it, and make the taillights more visible. With its bold lines and fast looks, you have yourself one badass Corvette Stingray that honors the heritage of the original 1963 split-window coupe while defining the future of the Corvette name.

Photos via Jalopnik.