Video: Mid-Engine Corvette Takes Off From Stop Lights

The mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette has been caught driving on public roads and now you can listen to what it’ll sound like when the wraps come off.

The video shows the test car taking off from stops and accelerating slowly. Unfortunately, you don’t get to hear the engine howling, but you do get to hear its bassy idle.

While rumors abound about what Chevy will stick into the mid-engine Corvette’s engine bay (running the gamut from the 4.2-liter twin-turbo to the 6.2-liter LT1), the video does at least seem to confirm that the brand hasn’t gone all Ford and decided to fit a little engine in its mid-engine supercar.

The car’s shifting habits, meanwhile, suggest that the version spotted here isn’t a manual. With its quick shifts it sounds much more like an automatic or a dual-clutch, which jives with Car and Drivers’ reporting that the Tremec TR9007 seven-speed DCT will be the only available transmission.

Our photographers also report that the car spotted here is wearing 245/35 ZR19s up front, with 305/30 ZR20s in the rear.

A rumored $800 million dollar investment in Bowling Green, meanwhile, is a pretty good indication that the car will bear the Corvette name, even though it’s not expected to displace the front-engine Corvette.

A version of this story originally appeared on GM Inside News.