Rumors Continue To Swirl Around the C8 Corvette for Australia

With the Corvette assembly plant shut down for three months for a major makeover and the factory tours nixed even longer for the next 18 months, the Internet rumor mill has been ablaze with talk about what’s really going on behind the closed doors in Bowling Green.

While it’s probably best to take any news that isn’t officially released from General Motors with a grain of salt, the website wheelsmag.com.au is reporting that it’s a “nailed-on cert” that the next generation C8 Corvette will be sold in right-hand drive form in Australia and will become the halo car for the Holden brand.

“We’ve seen the pictures and we’ve spoken to Holden staff,” the website says. Which pictures they didn’t say.

But Wheels does say they interviewed Holden chassis engineer Rob Trubiani and communication chief Sean Poppitt, who told them that the new Commodore VXR won’t be the top dog in the Holden food chain.

Instead, after talking to the two men, Wheels speculates that the Corvette and Camaro will fill that role in the Land Down Under.

“Don’t forget we still have the sports car, the much talked about sports car – or cars – coming to the market which will really fill that performance halo for us,” Poppitt told Wheels, declining to offer any more information about which car or cars that would be.

Wheels believes that the current C7 Corvette is “just leaving too much money on the table” with its low base price of USD $55,000. They think the C8 Corvette might up the ante to more than $100,000 in the U.S., adding: “Bring that to Australia and suddenly it’s up against some serious competition at around A$200,000.”

Wheels believes it’s “certain” that the C8 will be the most technologically advanced Vette yet, which is a foregone conclusion in our opinion based on the multiple advancements made in each of the seven previous generations. They also think the C8 “is likely to trade sheer muscle for lighter weight, greater agility, and higher efficiency” and conclude that it’s “a given” it will have an aluminum chassis with carbon panels and a platform engineered to accept future electrification.

Wheels notes that just when the C8 will be revealed has yet to be confirmed, “but we wouldn’t bet against it being the big drawcard for the 2018 Detroit show in January, with cars finding US customers later that year” and Australian buyers getting the mid-engined monster in 2019.

Guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Personally, we’re glad to see General Motors keeping the C8 and a possible mid-engine Corvette hush-hush (not to mention any official information about the 2018 ZR1). We always thought too much information about the C7 was given away by Chevy before it ever went on sale (i.e., the 1.13.13 unveiling a good six or so months before the car even went on sale) – can you imagine the intrigue that would have boiled over if the C7 had been unveiled a month before it was actually available to folks like me and you? The excitement would have been unreal.

Source:
wheelsmag.com.au

Related:
General Motors Continues Fight for Corvette Trademark in Australia
GM Promising New Approach on Engineering its Vehicles for Right Hand Drive
C8 Corvette Looking More Likely to Serve as Holden’s New V8 Sports Car in Australia