No Corvette for Australia
GM international boss shoots down reports of right-hand drive Corvette for AustraliaThe stunning new C7 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will not be built in right-hand drive and will not be sold in Australia by Holden.
That is the emphatic declaration by General Motors International Operations boss Tim Lee in response to a News Limited report that the new Corvette – unveiled at the Detroit motor show overnight – was headed Down Under.
"I'm telling you there is no plan," Mr Lee, told a group of Australian media at the show today.
"We have no plan to put a right-hand-drive under that bonnet. It would be a significant engineering task."
"This is a non-story from my point of view. You guys write what you want to write, I really don't give a shit, but it is not in the mainstream plan."
The News Limited story, penned by respected former motoring.com.au contributor Josh Dowling, quoted both GM President Dan Akerson and C7 Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter, who backed right-hand drive and Australian sales for the new Corvette, probably beyond 2015.
But that cut no ice with Mr Lee.
"I recognise what my boss said, I recognise what [the Corvette chief engineer] said, I'm telling you as the operating guy in charge there is no plan."
Mr Lee said the C7 was not even ‘package protected’ for right-hand drive, which means such an engineering job would be massively expensive.
"I would say if we chose to make it a right-hand-drive ultimately we could do that, it would be a huge resource allocation decision, we haven't made that decision.
"There is no engineering execution, there is no plan. If the CEO said tomorrow that he wants us to do that it would take us years to get it done."
The C7 will be sold in Japan and the UK by Chevrolet, but in left-hand drive form.
It appears that in Australia, it will be left to private engineering firms such as Performax to convert to RHD.
"The Corvette is a Chevrolet. We don't sell Chevrolets in Australia, we sell Holdens," said Mr Lee.
Extended gallery of Chevrolet Corvette Stingray at motoring.com.au
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