Corvette Manta Ray Trademarked
Chevy has filed for a particularly interesting trademark.
The American company has trademarked Corvette Manta Ray along with just Manta Ray, for use on “motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, engines therefor and structural parts thereof.”
There is no indication as what the Manta Ray might be and there is always the possibility it might be nothing at all.
Manta Ray is not a new name for the Corvette, as it was used on a 1969 Corvette concept. That Manta Ray featured a unique side exhaust, a two-tone paint finish, new headlights and an entirely new back end which heavily modified the car’s roof line. It also came with the upgraded ZL-1 427 V8.
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So what would a modern Corvette Manta Ray be? Possibly a new trim line that sits between the base Corvette Stingray and the more powerful Corvette Zo6. It could use a more powerful version of the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8, or a down-tuned version of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 found in the Zo6. Or maybe even a return of the legendary ZL-1?
Engines may not even play into it. The Manta Ray could simply be an appearance package that adds some visual appeal to the car. Or maybe, just maybe, this is the new mid-engine Corvette that has been rumored for some time.
Discuss this story at our Chevy Corvette Forum
Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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maybe they could redesign the rear end of the the current corvette, got to be the greatest waste of talant in the world.
Lets hope Corvette don't fall for all these people hype about a mid-engine car, talk about ruining a line of cars that should do it.