Chevrolet Corvette delayed until 2021

The hotly-anticipated new mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette supercar will come Down Under in Z51 form as standard, but Aussie buyers won’t see their cars until early 2021.

A General Motors source confirmed with carsales that the first right-hand drive Corvette coupes will land in Australia before Christmas next year for final homologation and marketing activities.

So while we’ll get a taste of the ground-breaking C8 Corvette overseas before then, expect to read our first local review by this time next year.

The car will be marketed under the Corvette brand in Australia (rather than Chevrolet or Holden) and will initially arrive in one spec level called Z51 – not Stingray.

The 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe is priced from $US59,995 in the US, where deliveries begin in February and where the Z51 is a $US5000 option package.

North America’s Z51 pack includes a more aerodynamic body kit, sports exhaust, revised suspension, electronic differential, upgraded brakes and improved engine cooling.

With its sports exhaust, the Z51 adds 5hp to the Corvette’s new LT2 6.2-litre V8 (now 370kW/640Nm). With a dedicated launch control mode for the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, it’s claimed to hit 60mph (97km/h) in
2.9 seconds – 0.1sec sooner than the Stingray, which has mechanical LSD.

In the US, the new Corvette will be offered in three trim levels – L1, L2 and L3.

But Australians will only get one variant – to begin with, at least – based on the top-shelf L3 grade, which comes with Napa leather-trimmed GT2 seats and a suede microfibre-covered dashboard, instrument panel and door inserts, plus heated/cooled seats, a heated steering wheel, head-up display and a 14-speaker Bose stereo.

The GM insider said that Holden is likely to broaden the Aussie Corvette range down the track with a cheaper base L1 model, either the range-topping Z01 or twin-turbo V8 hybrid ZR1 models, or perhaps the convertible version.

As we’ve reported, only select Holden and HSV dealers will sell and service the new Corvette, given the more in-depth training and specific tools required to maintain the high-performance mid-engine supercar.

There are desires within GM to see the Corvette take an active role in motorsport globally, which will see it take on a pace car role in Australia for starters. Participation in the Australian GT Championship is also being touted for Holden’s new halo model.

While local pricing is a long way from being set, our source confirmed the new Corvette Z51 will be priced north of $150K when it goes on sale in early 2021.

The Corvette’s delayed arrival, which means Holden won’t deliver a new factory right-hand drive V8 sports car by 2020 as promised, is due to a union strike at a number US GM plants, including the Bowling Green factory in Kentucky where the C8 is built.