Here's your first (grainy) look at Chevy’s new Corvette C8.R racer

So, you’ve taken the time to digest all of the details about the brand-new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, right? There’s 495bhp and 470lb ft of torque from the now mid-mounted 6.2-litre, naturally-aspirated V8, as well as a rear-mounted eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and a resulting 0-60mph time of around 3.0 seconds.

Those are some impressive numbers, but of course it’s that mid-engined layout that’s got everyone talking. The front-engined fanboys will tell you that this is no longer a Corvette, but the move has been rumoured since the 1970s. When we spoke to Alex MacDonald, the man in charge of the new C8’s setup, he said that the engineering tools available were now finally advanced enough to make the move without compromise.

And so to the reason why we’re all here. Not only will that mid-engined layout help the road car, it should be invaluable for the car you see in the grainy images above. That is the brand new Corvette C8.R, which is set to be unveiled soon and will replace Chevrolet’s current C7.R endurance racer.

We barely know any details about the C8.R yet – these images are simply screenshots from the road car reveal video – but we can safely assume that it’ll compete in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

We do know that Brit racer Oliver Gavin, who has five Le Mans class wins to his name, has been helping with the setup of the new road car though. So, the racer will have a strong base to build upon.

There are two things we’re hoping for from the C8.R too. Firstly, we’re hoping it’ll get the classic Corvette Racing yellow livery. And secondly, we’re desperately hoping that it’ll provide a similarly bone-tingling noise to the outgoing C7.R GT car.

That monster made its debut at the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona, so we could potentially see the C8.R at the same race in 2020 – although that’s pure speculation for now. Anyway, what do you reckon, Internet? Will the C8.R have the same charm as its predecessor?