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C8 Corvette Production Start Pushed Back to February 2020

General Motors and the UAW found themselves between a rock and a hard place for six weeks, a stoppage that affected the biggest of the Big Three in Detroit in more than one way. Other than the financial aspect of the strike, the endless back and forth has translated into massive delays in production.
C8 Corvette 80 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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Motor Authority received confirmation from Chevrolet spokesperson Kevin Kelly about the fate of the C8 Corvette, and it’s not pretty. The order books may be open, the U.S. configurator may be live, but production won’t start until February 2020 for the 2020 model year. Adding insult to injury, this also means the convertible will enter production a bit later than originally planned.

For the time being, the Bowling Green assembly plant in Kentucky is rushing to finish C7 Corvette production to meet the remaining orders. Between the seventh and eighth generation, General Motors will upgrade the facility with new tools designed specifically for mid-engined car production.

The C8 was originally intended to reach the first customers by the end of 2019, but even though there’s a bit of a wait until the spring of 2020, it will be well worth it. The LT2 small-block V8 and eight-speed DCT from Tremec make the Stingray the quickest and the fastest “base Corvette” ever.

Opting for the Z51 Performance Package translates to 2.9 seconds to 60 mph, the quarter-mile run is over in 11.2 seconds at 121 mph, and top speed is rated at 184 mph. Without the Z51 option, the “base base Corvette” is much obliged to hit 194 mph.

Not even the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 can match these numbers, a car that Stuttgart describes as “perfectly irrational” on the U.S. website. What truly is irrational is that Chevy asks $60k for the ‘Vette, an outstanding proposition for a mid-engined sports car that has so much to offer.

General Motors has disappointed time and again over the past few years, but the C8 raises the bar for every automaker with sporty credentials. Also worthy of mentioning, the arrival of the C8 is bad news for the Toyota Supra, a BMW Z4 in disguise that’s priced way above MSRP because the hype hasn’t died down yet.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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