GM Shares More Details on “Unhackable” C8 Corvette

Aside from breaking company tradition by having its powertrain mounted in the middle of the car, and possibly ditching the pushrod V8 engine for the 4.2-liter V8 with overhead cams like that of the Cadillac CT6-V’s Blackwing V8, the “mid-engine Corvette” is circling the news for another feature.

Amid mounting issues on cybersecurity, General Motors has shared a special feature of the upcoming C8 Corvette that will protect its owners.

The new model is described as “unhackable” but that does not mean the car can’t be tuned by owners according to their liking.

The 2020 C8 Corvette can still be modified with various suspension, tire, and some engine upgrades, although the engine’s software will be heavily restricted to prevent potential hacking.

The car’s Engine Control Unit was given state-of-the-art safeguards all in the name of cybersecurity, says GM President Mark Reuss.

“We are going to do everything we can to protect our customers from a cybersecurity standpoint,” Reuss said. “Global B, I think, is going to be the standard of the industry in terms of the encrypted messaging that travels on our bus between modules,” he added.

Global B is the brand’s Battery Electric Vehicle architecture. And although the 2020 C8 will not be fully electric, it shares a lot of software with upcoming electric vehicles.

Like all major automakers, General Motors identified cybersecurity as a key threat to future vehicles, and has since made improvements on the C8’s software and connectivity capabilities while also making sure that certain ECU tunings will still be possible for consumers.

“I don’t wanna cut anybody out from an aftermarket standpoint, but we have to pick and choose who are the good guys,” Reuss said.

The 2020 C8 Corvette is expected to premiere on July 18.