Will the Corvette SS get Delphi's magnetic suspension technology?

[Rob]

Will the Corvette SS get Delphi's magnetic suspension technology?

These latest spy shots of the Chevrolet Corvette SS, or Corvette Z07, or whatever, aren't the sharpest photos we've seen but they do point to one important development. Taken at a supplier test track in Europe, this Corvette SS prototype was caught testing alongside a Ferrari 599. As fun as it might be to think Chevrolet considers the 599 a competitor for the upcoming Corvette, the real connection is their suspension technology. Like the current Corvette, the Ferrari 599 uses a magnetically adjustable shock absorber system made by Delphi. Up to this point, the system has been offered on standard Corvettes only, but it appears as though Chevrolet's engineers might be reworking the system to help control this Corvette's massive horsepower.











Source: Edmunds.com

[Tuna]

It would not surprise me.

I have also heard that the current MagRide used on the standard Vettes is not robust enough for serious, day in and day out, track work. The programming capability is there as I know someone that has a MagRide car with a different program that handles the track extremely well.

[NORTY]

Ferrari bought the technology from Delphi last year. I expect refinement to the "F55" system.

[Hib Halverson]

Norty is correct. Ferrari licensed the technology from Delphi and Lord Corp (which makes the "fluid").

The idea that the current MagnaRide is not robust enough might be true, but only to the extent that MR in the form it is when used on base C5/C6. It will be a development challenge, not a technology challenge, to produce a version of MR which would be reliable and durable enough for use on the SS. I'll add that the car certainly ought to have MR. The much wider "bandwidth" in ride-and-handling that comes with the system seems almost manditory if Corvette is going to enter the market for cars over 100 large.