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Poll: Should Ford Build A Direct Chevy Corvette Rival?

The Chevy Corvette has existed for over 70 years now, holding the unofficial title of “America’s sports car” over that same time frame. While Ford was keen to compete directly with the Corvette in its early days via the first-generation Thunderbird, The Blue Oval has otherwise largely opted to sit out that battle in terms of the more affordable and traditional sports car segment, however, soldiering on with the Ford Mustang and not much else at the moment. Thus, this begs the question – should Ford build a more direct Chevy Corvette rival?

A photo showing the exterior of the 2025 Ford Mustang GTD Spirit of America from a top down angle.

The Corvette has long been known as a vehicle that punches far above its weight in terms of performance-per-dollar, competing with the likes of sports cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche. The Mustang, on the other hand, has traditionally done battle with vehicles like the Dodge Charger/Challenger and Chevy Camaro, but all of those models have been discontinued in their prior form, while the Charger is returning as a vehicle offering either a twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder gas engine or EV power only – not a V8.

Things have changed a bit as of late, however. Ford has vastly expanded its Mustang racing efforts across the globe, where the pony car is competing with some non-traditional rivals such as the higher-end models previously mentioned. Thus – coupled with the arrival of the incredibly potent yet pricey Mustang GTD – this begs the question of why wouldn’t Ford opt to make a proper Corvette rival, which seems like low hanging fruit?

It was just a year and a half ago that Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford stated that The Blue Oval was perfectly content continuing to sell the Mustang as its only such offering, adding that “I think it’s by far the best sports car in America.” And while Ford has been spotted benchmarking multiple C8 Corvette variants in recent years, CEO Jim Farley seems to be more focused on Porsche and becoming an off-road-focused brand, in general. Meanwhile, the automaker also showed off a host of new Mustang variants to its dealers last year, including a new high-performance Shelby-like model.

Thus, it’s worth wondering – should Ford build some sort of direct Corvette rival, rather than letting GM have this particular segment all to itself, at least, as it pertains to American-based offerings? Let us know what you think in the poll below!

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Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

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Comments

  1. The direction Ford is moving in with the Mustang, is proving to be plenty. Why create a new platform with its associated costs with probably little in the way of ROI. I think they’re moving in right direction.

    Reply
    1. Ford should bring back the Ford GT ! That’s the Vet killer !

      Reply
      1. A Ford GT is at another level. It cost 10 times more than the Corvette. So no it’s not the Corvette killer. It’s the Ferrari killer.

        Reply
        1. That’s what I am led to believe. I always thought the early Mustang’s looked like a Corvette? Am I wrong, I know I’ve seen pictures. But, really folks, the new Mustang GTD can run rings around a Corvette. Of course a new unit like the Ford Mako GT, could turn heads away from the Vett. What the hey, it’s all about competition. The new Mako could be a cross between the Mustang and the GT. I’m already loving it. Have you driven the Mako yet?

          Reply
  2. The Mustang already kind of is Ford’s Corvette competitor.

    It isn’t really a “muscle car” anymore, and hasn’t been for some time. The last muscle car was the last gen Challenger. The Mustang (and Camaro) went from being an affordable muscle cars to a track focused sports cars sometime around the time it went from being a budget V8 with a live axel to having fully independent suspension and costing over 50k OTD.

    If they want to create a mid-engine supercar fighter akin to the Corvette, they could always bring back the GT and make it affordable. But they’ve had multiple chances to do that and have always considered the GT a halo car. And that spot is now taken by the GTD.

    There’s a reason why Mopar is replacing the Challenger and Ford has the new gen Mustang but GM isn’t bringing back the Camaro. They already have a track focused sports car in that price bracket– its the Corvette.

    Reply
    1. Ford needs to focus on keeping the Mustang an affordable sports car for the younger generation 50k + for a Gt is going to ruin the sales of a great sports car.

      Reply
  3. Ford should build not only a Corvetter rival but also a sedan. Not everybody like SUV´s or crossovers or is willing to buy one no matter what.

    Reply
    1. An aggressive looking muscle sedan would be awesome.

      Reply
      1. I agreed with you 100%

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  4. NO!!!!! Ford already has enough BoyRacer models, while ignoring the heart of the market.

    Reply
    1. The heart of what market? Ford has the Escape, Edge, Bronco Sport, and the Mach E for all the old women’s crossover needs. Plus a Bronco, Explorer, and Expedition as more traditional SUVs. And the pickup segments covered.

      Reply
      1. Edge is dead, Escape is soon to follow.

        If you live in a metro area, Ford apparently doesn’t think you matter. Soon there won’t be a single commuter/family option available from Ford that isn’t a full size SUV.

        Reply
        1. The Mach E is that. It’s literally what every Karen says she wants in a vehicle now.

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          1. Its an EV.

            Which is fine, if you have a place to charge. Most people who live in a City live in an apartment, and don’t.

            Reply
          2. lol it’s definitely the Future. Especially with Elon Musk running things seriously

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          3. E.V.’s are dead. By the time Trump leaves office they will be nothing more than a footnote in history

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        2. Also, the Bronco Sport is an ICE metro vehicle.

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          1. The Bronco Sport is an off-road adjacent lifestyle vehicle. Its design, size, sightlines, and driving dynamics are horribly suited for being a city car.

            If that’s Ford best offering for someone living in the city, then people will vote with their wallets.

            Reply
          2. Just compare the MPG for Bronco Sport to Escape to see how wrong this is.

            Escape is Ford’s ICE/Hybrid metro vehicle. And they are killing it without a replacement.

            Just like they killed the Fusion, Focus, and Fiesta.

            Surrendering the entire metro market to Japan and Germany. Ford is rolling in his grave.

            Reply
        3. Most people who live in a City live in an apartment also have to go out to get gasoline, too. Just build electric charging stations at gas stations. Problem solved!

          Reply
          1. So they can sit in line forever then sit and wait forever to charge up themselves? Sounds like an ENORMOUS waste of time, which is even more valuable than money to most people.

            Reply
  5. I don’t think so. The Mustang is the last pony car and the Corvette is the Boomers’ sports car. No need to go after that market.

    Reply
    1. An article on GM authority said that the C8 Corvette is the #1 choice of sports car among buyers 35 and under.

      Reply
  6. I wouldn’t mind it. Having Mustang cover the full range of rental fleet 4cyl to the “vs Corvette” aspect has ballooned its cost to match that market, as well as making it fail to fully focus on one particular segment. If there were a proper direct competitor, say, Thunderbird, it could allow Mustang to move back towards the more affordable side of things. OR, they could let Mustang keep moving upmarket and bring back a m=nameplate such as Probe to cover the more affordable sporty car segment.

    Basically, FoMoCo would likely be able to make a more focused and “better” car for each of the affordable-sporty segment, the performance grand tourer segment, and the (near)supercar segment, IF they had more options and were not trying to stretch, squish, and tweak one platform/car to cover all of it.

    Reply
  7. Mustang is fast becoming unaffordable why produce another car out of reach of most everyone. Build something we can buy that doesn’t require an 84 months of payments Ford is headed to extinction with all these overpriced SUVs.

    Reply
  8. That can’t afford to….

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  9. Make a modern day C-Max.

    Reply
  10. Mustang is already a rival to the Corvette. Sales have leveled off in the past year. Sales is the factor whether or not a vehicle is produced. A person looking to buy a truck or SUV is not waking up tomorrow looking to buy a Vette or Mustang. People can’t buy a sedan any longer. Ford tried to build a new Continental but fell very short cause it was a stretched Fusion with no power. They need to really consider a rival to a Mercedes S550 with a 5.0 Cayote in it. Bottom line, everything they make now is one day going to have a Mustang nameplate. It’s not the name that’s selling cars, it’s the car itself. Nobody wants a Mustang Explorer

    Reply
  11. I would say yes, but you already have the GT. The problem is ford screws the general public that wanted to buy a GT BY ONLY SELLING THEM TO HOLLYWOOD STARS, and very rich people. I had my name in on the first generation and this last one. But I never stood a chance even though I was paying cash. The dealers are screwing the general public also. Every time ford comes out with a new performance cars like the raptor and raptor R dealers jack the prices up $25-50,000 over msrp. Only a moron would pay that much over msrp. Ford needs to control final prices and sell direct to customers on performance cars and trucks if they want to have a great bottom line. If not only dealers will reap the profits

    Reply
    1. I would love it if Ford could sell direct to customers, but it is illegal to do so (Tesla excepted). The dealers are a powerful and rich lobby.

      Reply
  12. The market is so small right now, why bother spending the money and resources on a direct competitor. Ford is better off developing another GT supercar plus Mustang sales will suffer as well since a Corvette competitor means Ford will have to have some price overlap with the Mustang and that means the sports car would cannibalize sales (something the Camaro ran into). Ford would do better refining the Mustang (I’ve been preaching this since the GTD came out but the S650 should have gotten an SLA IFS and transaxle for dynamic improvements to the car and more in common with the GTD. It would have essentially been the same configuration as the departed C7 Corvette which was no slouch).

    Reply
  13. You could call it the Thunderbird .

    Reply
    1. ^^THIS^^

      Reply
  14. People need affordable cars, even their toys. The Mustang is already headed to being unaffordable.

    Reply
  15. I think all money and effort should go into electric vehicles, now if Ford wanted to top the Lucid air, Tesla S or Porsche , any of those would be a worthy goal. Investment in ice vehicles at this time would be a waste all around. Make Chevy chase your new models!

    Reply
  16. Ford needs to build a Corolla and a Camry competitor. Use the existing base hybrid engineer and start base sales to compete. Also, the same car for around the world and cut out all the excess cost. Build cars, sell cars and make money. One last thing if you are going to compete do not make crap – they must be solid cars that are as reliable and dependable as a Toyota. I own 4 Ford’s and 1 Toyota. I bought the Fords before retirement and the Toyota after retirement so that I would have at least one dependable car for my golden years.

    Reply
  17. No, Ford should not build a competitive sports car to challenge the Corvette. it seems like you’ve already done that first with the Thunderbird until someone decided to put some passenger seats in the car and then you came out with the Cobra which I thought was better than a Corvette. There seems to be too many engineers who might ruin a good engine by over engineering it and then there’s the bean counters who will find nickel and dime savings and destroy the process. Give up that idea of challenging Corvette unlike Ford GM seems to love their sports car following. Most of my vehicles were Ford products, I loved Ford until I bought a Lincoln Mark LT as a present to myself that love has faded but I still wish Ford nothing but the best in the future, right now I’ll have to sit this one out on the sidelines.

    Reply
  18. The Mustang has always been the traditional rival to the Vette. With that said, the Ford GT is also a rival. Ford should continue building the GT. IMO, I think Ford has this covered.

    Reply
  19. I thought the Ford GT was going to be the corvette rival when they brought it back in 2005. Instead it just ended up being a collector car that the average person can’t afford. So too answer the question, yes ford needs to build a corvette rival that the average person can buy and not become an overpriced collector car that only millionaires can afford.

    Reply
  20. Ford won’t actually go to the trouble of building a Corvette competitor it will just keep jacking up the Mustang price until they are “competing” against it. They already have an example of doing this with the Bronco sport. It has the size, interior material quality, refinement and NVH characteristics of an entry level vehicle like a Honda HR-V but they price it as if it’s a premium product.

    Reply
  21. The answer is no, as the market for the Corvette is about exactly the same as how Corvettes are made. Back in 1990 Ford had a similar situation, should they build a Surburban competitor or not. The data showed that the market was matched exactly to how many GM made, but …. there was a gap between the Escape and the Suburban screaming to be addressed, and it was with the Expedition.

    Reply
  22. The original Thunderbird was intended to be Ford’s ‘Vette Killer’, but in the end it turned into a luxury coupe. The last retro T-Bird could have been that car, but Ford decided to put the anemic, and troubled Jaguar-Sourced 3.9 V8. If they had stuck the 4-valve 4.6 ‘Cobra’ V8 in them that was in Cobra Mustangs and Mercury Marauders at the time they would have had something. Now, the current Vette has more in common with the Ford GT once it became mid-engined. If Ford came out with a new Supercharged Coyote-Powered, RWD, 2-seater Thunderbird, they might have a true Vette competitor, especially if they can keep the costs down. Maybe go a step further and put the Ford Performance 7.3 in it with an optional super charger, and possible AWD? But I would like to see a base model performance car come out again. Right now the closest you can get to a budget performance car is TC Customs Sleeper F150 XLs.

    Reply
  23. back in late 60’s and early 70’s when l was a teenager muscle cars corvettes, mustangs , GTO , Lemans , 442 etc we’re owned by my peer group. now a days you don’t see anyone under 50 driving any of todays high performance vehicles, because they can’t afford them. this past summer l sold my 2018 Camaro because it was not practical for me. too many blind spots, no place to drive it as it was ment to be driven, tough ride on the condition of roads. now I’m happy with my Bronco Sport Badlands.. if anything bring back the GT. it was a wonder to look at.

    Reply
  24. It would be a financial mistake for Ford to build a direct competitor to the Corvette or any other 2-seat sports car. When the Fox platform ended in 1993 the rear seat in Mustangs became good only for groceries and little kids, so Ford should either completely redesign the Mustang so it has a rear seat that adults can use or get rid the rear seat altogether. It is time for Ford to drop the retro look (which they did very well from 2005 to 2014) and come up with a all new Mustang that will comfortably hold 4 or 5 passengers with a useful trunk at an affordable price. The market for high performance & expensive 2 passenger sports cars is saturated.

    Reply
  25. They really need to focus on quality, and producing CARS and vehicles that people want and need. I’m a die hard Ford fan, but the brand has been testing me lately.

    Reply
  26. Smart move is to bring the Expedition back !
    Take half or more of the business away from GM.
    Last time the Expedition was available, they could not make enough of them, and look at what they command now on the used market.
    Offer it with the 6.7 diesel and 7.3 gas engines like the Super Duty’s, and same trims and you have a home run!
    Was canceled last time because Bill Ford folded to the environmentalists, which was a dumb move that gained Ford nothing but canceling a hot selling product and money lost!
    Instead of Farly continuing his EV dream, he needs to look at the market and what his consumers want, not what he wants!!

    Reply
    1. Did you mean “Excursion “?

      Reply
  27. I’m just happy the Mustang is around. Musk wants electric cars. The outlook is not good for Pony Cars ICE

    Reply
    1. Tesla has lost their luster especially with Musk and DOGE. Tesla also has the same design and the Cybertruck is a piece of junk. Tesla didn’t learn from Henry Ford and the Model T that a product can become stale.

      Reply
  28. Ford doesn’t have the money to waste on a new car that may sell a couple thousand copies at best. Put that money toward fixing QC problems and make cars that regular folks want to buy. Not everyone wants military looking vehicles and impractical sports cars.

    Reply
  29. Ford should work on their quality problems and stop concentrating on vehicles that ape Jeep and resemble military vehicles. Out family has driven nothing but FoMoCo since 1961 and there are fewer and fewer cars that appeal to us every year.

    Reply
  30. Ford already has two options in play. 1st take the most iconic American loved Mustang, remove the back seat and Boom you now have a “Sports car”. 2nd the iconic GT40 is already the best true sports car in the World, make it affordable? I would love to have one!
    A 3rd option would also be the return of the Cobra, that was always a Vet killer. There’s really no need for a new platform that will fade away, like the T-birds the Pantera, the Tiger, and so many more.

    Reply
  31. Kind of a tough question to answer without comment.
    Since Ford got away from building cars and concentrated on trucks, SUV’s, crossovers, etc., etc. they seem to have lost their way with customers. I don’t even think they know what their own business model is. More than once they have taken a popular model and cancelled it, and didn’t even replace it. They just hoped that the consumer would pick either something more expensive or a cheaper model. Never thought the consumer would go to another brand. Since Ford cancelled the model I really liked, and I will need to replace it soon; instead of getting a bigger or smaller Ford model, I’ve already found a direct replacement with a different brand.
    Ford should never have stopped building cars.
    If Ford wants to make a competitor to the Corvette, then make an affordable version of the GT. Not all Corvettes are track cars and aren’t crammed with performance options, and if you want performance then you have to pay for it. Otherwise continue making the GT as a super car that can be ordered, and the Mustang can stay as is as the sports car for the masses like it is now.

    Reply
  32. After reading Motor Trend, I have to say Yes to a new Corvette Eater, the Mustang is close, but, plus we need that Euro Style. Come on Mr. Ford, get excited like your Dad did.

    Read Motor Trend Chevy C8 Corvette vs. Ford Mustang Dark Horse: American Supercar Showdown
    Can the Pony catch the Stingray in this American muscle car match-up?

    Benjamin Hunting Writer Motor Trend Staff Photographer Manufacturer Photographer Alan MuirIl lustrator Sep 02, 2024

    Reply
  33. Yes build another sports car, maybe a corvette killer. But, build it with more flexibility, more engines choices, V4, V6, V8 Normal , V8 Turbo, V8 Super charged. Same chassi, same outside body, but with different price points and trim so you can reach various demographics and different price points. Price points like the old days, 350,396, 427, 454, etc. but not only brut force but cruiser comfort and decore, a real normal car with a flare. a fun non complex with get up and go like a early GTO, sport car and also a convertible , removeable top and fixed top or sun roof.

    Reply
  34. yes go back to building cars, thats how ford got into the automobile industry.

    Reply
  35. yes simular to what you are doing with the mustang! the porsche formula i call it. you start and keep on building with Kiasen , look with what they have done in 60 years. build a car to keep on building the car and make money on going. PERFECT THE DARN THING!

    Reply
  36. Sadly, before Ford can build anything to rival a Corvette they need to build quality in their existing offerings! Which would be a huge undertaking alone.

    Reply
  37. It’s up to Ford and their programs, if they want another competitor against the Corvette, but, Ford does not need to, they’ve already proven themselves, with their past exotic sports car far ahead of Corvette, so they have nothing to prove, but Corvette is still trying to catch up to Ford sports car technology! But I’ll just leave it to Ford, I’m sure if they want to, they could bring out competition, once again!

    Reply
  38. Considering Mr. Farley has an original Cobra and Mustang is kind of moving away from the Shelby name, maybe it’s time to bring that Shelby Cobra idea from 2004 back for production. Only issue is the Mustang has already creeped to base MSRP Corvette levels already.

    Reply

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