Corvette Convertibles Now Account for 41 Percent of C8 Production

By
Keith Cornett
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12
12144

Corvette Convertibles Now Account for 41 Percent of C8 Production

Photo Credit: Al Fuller


We’ve had a love affair with the new C8 Corvette Convertible model ever since we first saw the unveiling of the new model at the Kennedy Space Center in October 2019. With its exotic looks and no trade-offs when compared to the C8 Coupe, the C8 Convertible brings a whole new level of performance and excitement to the drop-top model.

Apparently I am not alone in thinking this. During the National Corvette Museum’s Bash Event this week, we got the first preliminary production numbers for the 2021 model year and convertible sales haven’t been this strong since the 1969 model year!

Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles shared the 2021 order numbers that are based on a total of 19,362 Corvettes in GM’s Order Bank. These include both Corvettes that have already been produced, as well as those that are still awaiting production. We know that this number isn’t final for 2021 and we expect to see another couple of thousand cars added to that total before the model year officially concludes this summer.

Currently, the Convertible models are now accounting for 41% of all 2021 orders while the coupes make up 59% of production. In terms of raw numbers, that’s approximately 7,938 Convertibles vs 11,423 Coupes.

The Convertibles are also proving to be profit centers for the model as 52% of shoppers are choosing the 3LT model vs 40% ordering 2LT and only 8% going with the base 1LT model. While a majority of 2020 Corvette Coupe orders selected the 3LT trim package, for 2021 it’s the 2LT leading all Coupe orders at 47% vs 33% for 3LT and 20% choosing the base 1LT.

Corvette Convertible with D84 Option


The unique options for convertible buyers can customize are the roof and nacelles. The Carbon Flash Roof/Nacelles option (D84) represents 35% of all Convertibles while the Carbon Flash Nacelles-only option (D86) accounts for just 9% of orders. That leaves a majority of 2021 Convertibles (56%) being ordered in body color without the enhancements.

As mentioned earlier, we haven’t seen sales numbers look this good for the Convertible model since 1969 when 43% of buyers choose the ’69 Stingray Convertible vs the 57% that purchased the T-Top Coupe model. A quick review of the Corvette Black Book appears to confirm this. As a quick refresher, other significant model years for the convertible like the re-introduction of the convertible in 1986 only accounted for 21% of orders while the all-new C5 convertible released in 1998 was 38%. In 2014 with the introduction of the C7 Corvette, the convertible model was 29% of production.

We’re thinking that 40% does sound like the sweet spot for the mix of Convertible vs Coupe production and it will be interesting to see how that holds up with the introduction of future models. While not scientific to say the least, I have three friends who originally purchased 2020 Coupes and all of them have said their next C8 Corvette will be a convertible version should Chevy choose to offer convertibles on the upper-performance models.


Source:
Chevrolet.com

Related:
The Carbon Flash Nacelles Option for the 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible Will Cost You $1,295
[VIDEO] Watch the Reveal of the 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible and C8.R Race Car
[GALLERY] The 2020 Corvette Stingray Convertible’s Daytime Reveal (37 Corvette photos)

 



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12 COMMENTS

  1. All C8s are convertibles just $7,000.00 plus tax and the HTC will pull the top in the engine compartment for you. Less then 30 seconds and you can do it yourself!

  2. Well, DUH!!!!!! All the benefits of the coupe, (same trunk space, plus top down driving without losing space for the stored removable top), a secure hard top with the top up….only “drawback” is you don’t/can’t see the engine….WHO CARES!!!!!!…..If I was in charge, ALL Corvettes would be the convertible body style…..just sayin’ y’all….. : 0 )

  4. Had a C6 convertible, now a 2021 Coupe. Love seeing that engine right there – totally unique and an easy decision for me.

  5. We have a 2016 C-7 convertible with a 2021 C-8 coupe on the way one; of these days. Been at 3000 status for over 2 months now. Anyway, we purchased the C-7 convertible because, with the top down, it is much more attractive than the C-7 coupe as the coupe’s roof line is too narrow from the rear. As to the C-8 we ordered the coupe as the glass viewing area over the engine is soooooo special. Makes the car into a very unique automobile. The C-8 convertible does not have this exotic viewing area and the C-8 convertible is not nearly as attractive as the coupe is when it has the top down. Those 2 large pillars on the convertible are very distracting and subtract from the artistic aesthetic of the car.We almost did not order the Z51 package on the 2021 C-8 due to the distraction that is caused to the art form by the rear spoiler as it does not add anything to the C-8 ar tform and actually detracts from it.

  6. I hope not many owners are going through what I am with my 2021 HTC. The day after I picked my corvette I put the top down and when I attempted to put it back up the hooks deployed before the top was closed. I was 1.5 hours from my house. I pushed the top down to get it to latch but there was a warning “top not secure” and you are limited to 58MPH. After driving home I took it back to the dealer another hour away. They contacted GM then replaced parts then more parts. They had my car 22 days. GM first offer to me for my trouble was $100 to use for service on the car. The day after I got it back I put the top down and it wouldn’t even move. It was 45 degrees. I told the dealer to send a wrecker that I wasn’t going to drive it that far with the top down. The top worked in the heated shop but they moved it to an unheated area and the top would not close. Manual says 17-32 degrees it will work. The top worked 4-5 times but made a clunking sound when it closed until last week when it deployed the hooks again before it was closed. It has been back in the shop for over a week waiting for GM to figure out what to do. $97,500 for a car that the dealer has no idea how to fix and it appears GM isn’t in any hurry to replace it! Very frustrating!

  7. IF YOU WANT TO PAY $7,500 MORE FOR THE HTC

    IF YOU NEVER REMOVE THE TOP, OR ONLY CARE ABOUT PERFORMANCE,
    YOU DON’T NEED IT

  8. At least it looks a little better than the coup. GM needs to clean up the lines on the rear quarter and the side scoop.

  9. At 41% of new builds being HTC the C8 HTC will be a great used car for my 3rd midlife crisis! But one of my other greats car will have to die first!

  11. The HTC has a couple of drawbacks – the rear camera is mounted on the top, so when you retract the top you lose the camera view and are forced into an old school rear mirror view. That view is obstructed a bit by the engine cover. Then, visibility suffers without a rear camera, the nacelles create a blind spot that you can learn to overcome but there’s always that moment when you start changing lanes where you feel a bit of trepidation.

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