General Motors Speciality Vehicles has welcomed the first right-hand drive Chevrolet C8 Corvette to Australia.
A right-hand drive Corvette 3LT Convertible is registered in Victoria for final engineering validation, as General Motors prepares to start right-hand drive production in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
“We’re just as excited as all Corvette enthusiasts and owners-to-be to see one on the road Down Under and want to assure our passionate fans that we have activities planned for when restrictions allow to showcase this special vehicle,” GMSV said in an email to Corvette fans.
GM Specialty Vehicles has confirmed the first 228 cars coming in the initial allocation all have names against them.
Each of its 57 dealerships in Australia are receiving four C8 Corvettes.
The first C8 Corvettes should arrive in Australia by the end of December 2021.
The C8 is the first generation of Corvette to be available with factory right-hand drive.
When it arrives, the C8 Corvette will be priced from $144,990 before on-roads for the base 2LT coupe.
It’ll be available in 2LT and 3LT trims across coupe and convertible body styles, with a flagship Carbon Edition coupe priced at $189,990 before on-roads.
Power comes from a naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8 engine tucked behind the cabin with 364kW of power and 630Nm of torque.
It’s sent to the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The 0-100km/h sprint takes 2.9 seconds, just 0.2 seconds behind the $473,900 Porsche 911 Turbo S.
Standard equipment in Australia will include the Z51 Performance Pack, along with a head-up display and a 14-speaker Bose sound system.
The Z51 Performance Pack brings a dual-mode exhaust, adaptive Magnetic Ride Control suspension, larger Brembo brakes, an electronic limited-slip differential, a front splitter and rear spoiler, and more cooling for the engine.
With each generation of Corvette, Chevrolet typically rolls out a cavalcade of more powerful Corvette variants.
Chevrolet has already teased the 2023 Z06, which will reportedly pack a 5.5-litre flat-plane V8 engine. The Z06 name has already been trademarked by GMSV in Australia.
