When Chevrolet Remakes a Classic

By now you have heard about the newest generation of the Corvette. At the time of this writing, Hemmings latest survey found the Corvette the most collectible car in the US. No wonder with 8 generations produced since the early '50s, there is a Corvette model that will ignite youthful nostalgia for any generation of collectors. Without any actual C8 production models in the wild, I decided to stop trolling C8's online and visit a local Chevrolet dealership and see a pre-production version in person.

The first impression, the C8 looks way better in person than it does on screen. The fit and finish of the interior is an incremental improvement over the already well-appointed C7. While it retains the design elements of modern Corvette, there is no mistake where the engine is, behind the driver and forward of the rear wheels. It gives the car a much more aggressive profile and provides the driver with a much better view of the road ahead. 

I've been gawking at cars since the early '60s and have witnessed the introduction of 6 generations of Corvettes and while the engineering progress proved solid (except for the late 70's), I have not always been pleased with the design. The body C4 was a huge letdown for me because it lost the elegance and beauty of the C3. The C5 with the LS1 was technically a much better performance car but still lacked that supercar aesthetic. I became excited about the look of the Vette again with the introduction of the C6. Then the WOW... the C7 personified for me how an American supercar should look and perform, until now. (Feel free to leave your Viper and Ford GT comments below).

The C8 looks like a real supercar, both in performance with 0-60 in about 3 seconds and in looks. All this in the base model for less than $60K!

The roadshow did not give anyone a chance to experience how the car drives, but all the options were on display. For a driving review, we will have to wait for Road and Track to finish and print their evaluation.

Judging from the crowd, and it was a large crowd considering it was a Tuesday, this will be a popular model for younger drivers. Another generation of collectors can start lining up. I even saw a mom with a baby that was being introduced to the Corvette experience. What a great mom and a lucky kid!

As for pricing, the manager at Van Chevrolet in Scottsdale said they were selling the cars for the sticker price. He did say this dealer required customers to use the dealership financing. He also indicated they already had over 70 orders. The first wave of production is expected to be the 2LT and 3LT trim packages and with initial orders being delivered from late December - March 2020. Translation: the base $59,000 1LT version will not be in the first production run. With such an affordable supercar, why not spring from the upgrades?

Because of the large crowd, it was difficult to get good photos or video, but I was able to put together a video so you can get a better look but it is nothing like being there. Find a roadshow location and go see it, and yes bring your baby!