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New Corvette Stingray Convertible To Be Revealed At Kennedy Space Center

A “special astronaut guest” and “Chevrolet experts” will be present at the grand reveal of the Corvette Stingray Convertible, scheduled for October 3rd at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. As for production, the Bowling Green plant in Kentucky is expected to start churning out the drop-top model in February 2020 for the 2020 model year.
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible 61 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
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First introduced in 1953, the ‘Vette has long been associated with astronauts such as Alan Shepard. The first American to travel into space was invited by chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov to drive pre-production prototypes, then he received a 1972 Corvette from GM executives. Shepard also showed up to space training in ’59 with his very own 1957 Corvette.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Chevy chose the Kennedy Space Center and a very special guest to take the veils off the Stingray in Convertible flavor, and the presentations will begin at 11:00 AM under a tent in the Rocket Garden. This event is included with the daily admission, which costs $47 for children aged three to 11 while adults pony up $57.

No details whatsoever were offered about the newcomer, but we do know the convertible is heavier than the fixed-head coupe. 3,637 pounds or 1,650 kilograms is the curb weight, and the Z51 package is estimated to level up to 3,679 pounds or 1,669 kilograms.

Moving forward, the C8 Stingray Convertible is more than certain to drop by the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2019. As opposed to the previous generation of the breed, the C8 Stingray relies on the LT2 small-block V8 with 490 horsepower from the get-go.

Derived from the LT1 of the C7 Stingray, the naturally aspirated V8 is rated at 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque with the Z51 option. The coupe can hit 60 miles per hour in under three seconds with the performance package, the sort of acceleration that would make even Italian supercars blush with admiration for America’s mid-engine sports car.

This quickness is partly attributed to the transmission, now coming with a dual-clutch setup instead of a torque converter. The eight-speed DCT marks the first Corvette offered without a manual since the 1982 model year. If you were wondering, it’s the lack of demand that spelled the end of the three-pedal arrangement in the ‘Vette.
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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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