An 8-speed automatic transmission that will make it’s debut in the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette will boost fuel economy by 3.5 percent over the six-speed automatic transmission it replaces, and it gives the GM sports car an EPA highway rating of 29 mpg – the Corvette’s highest rating ever.

Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter also mentioned that they could have squeezed 30 MPG out of the Stingray by slightly bumping up the tire pressure, but it threw off the handling of the car. “We’ll be back next year and we’ll get to the 30,” he said Tuesday at a media event at GM’s proving grounds west of Detroit.

The 2015 Corvette, equipped with the 8-speed automatic transmission (the 8L90) will be EPA rated at 16 city/29 highway mpg, 20 mpg combined.

The 2014 model, equipped with the outgoing 6-speed automatic transmission carried an EPA rating of 16 mpg city, 28 mpg highway and 20 mpg combined, respectively.

Not that it matters to us, but we wonder what kind of MPG the new Z06 will get once it debuts. Historically, the Z06 variant has always gotten comparable MPG in relation to the base model.