Photo: Chevrolet
A booklet from a General Motors engineer puts the Stingray Convertible at 3,467 pounds dry while the coupe tips the scales at 3,366 pounds. That’s a 101-pound difference, but C8 lead engineer Tadge Juechter begs to differ.
Speaking to Autoblog at the reveal of the hardtop convertible, Juechter made it clear the difference between the two is “about 80 pounds.” The additional weight also translates to “about 3 seconds” from zero to 60 mph with the Z51 Performance Package, a tenth worse than the ‘Vette coupe with the same option.
The top and lowering mechanisms are the biggest offenders according to Juechter, who said that “no additional reinforcements were added to the car.” Something we certainly weren’t expecting is that the convertible is just as stiff, which matters a lot when you corner as hard as the Corvette allows you to corner.
Chevrolet expects the retractable hardtop to appeal to more than 50 percent of the customers, which is why at least half of the production output is dedicated to this body style. As far as pricing is concerned, pony up an additional $7,500 over the coupe for six electric motors and a top-down time of 16 seconds.
The hardtop can be operated at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), and the trunk can still take in two sets of golf clubs. But as opposed to the coupe, the convertible’s rear deck doesn’t feature a glass cover. In other words, you’ll have to pop the hood in order to glance at the LT2 small-block V8 engine.
As expected from the Stingray, the suck-squeeze-bang-blow ratings don’t differ between the two body styles. 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet will suffice as standard while the sports exhaust system levels up to 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Chevrolet didn’t say a word about top speed, which is 194 miles per hour for the coupe without the performance package.
“The most no-compromise Corvette convertible in history” is now available to order, and the first deliveries are scheduled for the first quarter of 2020 in the United States.
The top and lowering mechanisms are the biggest offenders according to Juechter, who said that “no additional reinforcements were added to the car.” Something we certainly weren’t expecting is that the convertible is just as stiff, which matters a lot when you corner as hard as the Corvette allows you to corner.
Chevrolet expects the retractable hardtop to appeal to more than 50 percent of the customers, which is why at least half of the production output is dedicated to this body style. As far as pricing is concerned, pony up an additional $7,500 over the coupe for six electric motors and a top-down time of 16 seconds.
The hardtop can be operated at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), and the trunk can still take in two sets of golf clubs. But as opposed to the coupe, the convertible’s rear deck doesn’t feature a glass cover. In other words, you’ll have to pop the hood in order to glance at the LT2 small-block V8 engine.
As expected from the Stingray, the suck-squeeze-bang-blow ratings don’t differ between the two body styles. 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet will suffice as standard while the sports exhaust system levels up to 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Chevrolet didn’t say a word about top speed, which is 194 miles per hour for the coupe without the performance package.
“The most no-compromise Corvette convertible in history” is now available to order, and the first deliveries are scheduled for the first quarter of 2020 in the United States.
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