The Chevrolet Corvette is about as American as apple pie, baseball and starting foreign wars. It’s the quintessential sportscar over in the States which makes it surprising that for the next Corvette, General Motors is seeking out design proposals from its various styling studios from all around the globe, particularly those in Europe.

That’s the word from GM’s vice president of global design, Ed Welburn, who revealed in a recent interview that the automaker’s design studios from across the world have begun sending in design studies for the C7 Corvette, which is expected to kick into gear late 2012.

More than ten new Corvette designs have been submitted so far, some of which have been described by Welburn as “absolutely phenomenal”.

This marks the first time that input from designers outside the U.S. is being seriously considered by GM. The thinking is that a more international flavor will enable the new Corvette to sell better in Europe and also attract younger buyers in the U.S. who might usually purchase an imported vehicle.

“We have challenges in the States with the Corvette,” Welburn explained. “The average age of the customer is really rising.” According to surveys, the current average age of a Corvette buyer is 54 and sales of the model last year are down 48 percent from where it was at in 2008.

Welburn hopes to change the design of the Corvette so it will be smaller and more aggressive, and improve interior quality.

One design element that’s already known is that the C7 Chevrolet Corvette will get a split rear window along with some other retro styling cues.

The 50th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept (pictured) may be a fair starting point. Click the link below to check out more images of the concept.

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