Any talk of discontinuing the Z06?

[No Doubt]

The 427 LS7 engine has an incredibly strong emotional appeal to a large segment of the Corvette community. This community has also willingly embraced the steadily increasing power that the Corvette has offered since the dark days of the late 70's, early 80's.

Indeed

These are the good old days - right now.

I agree.

I cannot say with any certitude that regardless of power/weight ratios a Solstice sized future Vette sporting a 287 cubic inch supercharged engine will have enough allure for me.

Neither can GM and therein lies a potential issue as I said above. Nevertheless, they are still required to meet both future C.A.F.E. and emission standards. However, they can't meet those future requirements with current technology, i.e. a 427 cu. in. naturally aspirated V8 in a 3,152 lb. car. The car will have to be lighter (less mass) and therefore most likely dimensionally smaller with fewer cubic inches as well.

Why must it be a smaller car? Again, mass and thus weight will likely need to be reduced in order to meet future federal requirements, and one of the easiest and least costly ways to do so is with a smaller car. Exotic materials such as carbon fiber could be used in lieu of a reduction in size, but the cost rises along with an increase in size. At that point, vehicle cost may exceed the targeted market segment. That leaves a smaller car with less hp although the same or perhaps an even better hp to weight ratio. Not a bad thing...but will it sell?

Hence, we're back to where we started: a car that may not appeal to what has been the typical Corvette buyer. Some people may simply not want, or even fit comfortably, in a car that is based on the Kappa platform (Solstice) no matter what the power to weight ratio turns out to be.

This is what GM has to deal with - right now. Moreover, they are among the reasons the C7 is currently on hold.

When one starts talking about the possible 'merger' of LMP1 and GT1 and its potential impact on homologation rules, it gets even more interesting. It may even open up the possibility of a mid-engine design should GM continue to participate in the series. Perhaps sooner than previously thought.