GM Confirms Strong Demand for Carbon 65 Package as 350 Will Be Built Prior to Factory Shutdown

Chevrolet’s latest special edition model, the 2018 Carbon 65 pays homeage to the gods of Carbon Fiber (and the Corvette’s 65th Anniversary) with a package that is loaded with the lightweight composite panels and accessories, and features the new-for-2018 Ceramic Matrix Gray exterior.

The Z30 RPO special edition adds $15,000 to the price of a 3LT Grand Sport or 3LZ Z06, and only 650 will be built.

The Ceramic Matrix Gray is an interesting color and it appears to be one of those that Corvette enthusiasts either love or hate based on the comments we’ve heard at the Bash and last weekend at Bloomington Gold. As the Corvette team promised the Carbon 65 would enter production prior to the August 1st shut down, we’ve been interested to find out how the Anniversary package has been accepted where it counts – sold orders.

This week we learned that GM has already accepted nearly 400 orders for the Ceramic Matrix Gray Grand Sport and Z06 models, and our sources tell us that nearly 350 Carbon 65s will be completed prior to the summer shutdown on August 1st. Chevrolet is building as many as they can, but constraints by vendors will cap the amount of cars that can be completed before the three-month break.

Once the plant is back up in November, production will resume and the remaining Carbon 65 orders will be completed as soon as possible.

A member of the Corvette team tells us the package had the potential and momentum to sell out in its first month of ordering, but suppliers just couldn’t keep up with the huge initial demand.

With the news of that many Carbon 65 special editions already in the pipeline, if you were thinking about adding a 2018 Carbon 65 Corvette to your stable, you should probably talk to your Chevrolet dealer immediately and get your order submitted as it doesn’t look like this package will be lingering on dealer lots for too long.

Not only is there no structured breakdown on how many Grand Sports and Z06s will get the new 65th Anniversary package, but a select portion of the 650 total build will be sent to Canada and other export markets, further limiting availability for U.S. customers.

The Bowling Green Assembly Plant is closing for three months starting August 1st for a series of upgrades inside the plant that will upgrade the assembly process and rearrange the assembly line to accommodate the new Corvette paint shop that is just coming online. Production of the 2018 model year is expected to resume on November 1st.

Related:
Download the 2018 Corvette Playbook
[VIDEO] What’s New with the 2018 Corvette Seminar from the NCM Bash
[PICS] Here is the 2018 Corvette Carbon 65 Edition