[VIDEO] Future Expectations for the C9 Corvette: What Enthusiasts Want to See

1. Well, I’ll start off this conversation with a different concept for the Ninth Generation of Chevrolet Corvettes.
   Using the current technology of the 2026 five models of 8th Gen Corvettes with a Base Coupe MSRP of $70,000/Stingray, $108,600/E-Ray, $117,700/Z06, $183,400/ZR1 (Includes the $3,000 gas guzzler tax to the Trump Administration), $205,400/ZR1X (Also including the U.S. Government penalty of the $3,000 gas guzzler tax) – PLUS another $1,995 for an incredible THEFT of destination cost – WHO WILL BE CAPABLE OF BUYING NEW CORVETTES?
   Right now, the end of 2025, about 95% of American Sports Car enthusiasts certainly will not afford a new Corvette starting at $71,995 and certainly not more expensive Corvettes as horsepower/electronics/technology/tariff cost increases each new year.
   So, here’s a new concept that Mary Barra and Mark Reuss have obviously forgotten – A NEW CORVETTE THAT EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES CAN BUY AND DRIVE ALL THE TIME!
   Not just old, retired dudes that park their Z06 in the garage and drive only Saturday mornings to a parking lot drinking coffee.
   Hey Mary and Mark: Forget trying to chase Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and all the others with new expensive Corvettes – JUST DESIGN, BUILD AND SELL AN AFFORDABLE CORVETTE – with a 9th Generation Corvette Model SSR.
   This new Corvette SSR has rear wheel drive only, a front or mid located gasoline V-8 engine, 6-speed manual transmission, a limited slip rear axle, Brembo 6 piston iron rotor brakes, lightweight aluminum wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tires, a speedometer/tach/oil/gas/temp gauge cluster only, a radio/USB stereo only, real leather bucket seats in five color choices, and an usable space storage trunk. All standard items included, NO OPTIONS allowed except 12 different exterior colors to style up your dream Corvette!
   No more extreme electronics that drives all systems, including the Driver, no more electric batteries/motors turning the front wheels, no turbochargers/superchargers/NOS or other power adder, and no more stupid options that a competent driver does not need or want to purchase for their Corvette. Just a Corvette with an engine and 4 wheels that YOU drive!
   This Ninth Generation Corvette SSR Coupe has a traditional removable Targa top and sells for exactly $50,000 with no Destination Charges as you drive to the Museum in Bowling Green in a rental car and go home the long way by breaking in the V-8 engine. The Corvette SSR Convertible has a cloth Haartz Stayfast manual opening top (no electric motors with buttons) in 8 colors to match the exterior color and sells for exactly $50,000 without the Destination Charges needed. All 9th Corvette SSR models come with a valued warranty of 5 years, 60,000 miles for the ENTIRE vehicle.
   So, keep all of this electronic, automatic, extreme horsepower, overboard engineering/ styling, 12 computers, too fast for the average male driver and now way too expensive to buy/own/insure/service and repair at your local Chevy dealer!
   Please Corvette Nation, send in emails to Keith and get the corporate email address for Mary Barra and Mark Reuss with Holder and Roma attached to tell them the Corvette is headed in the WRONG direction with all five models for 2026. Tell them to Google the absolutely beautiful 2026 Ferrari Amalfi (or 2025 Roma) Coupe for new Corvette styling inspiration to drop the current Air Force fighter jet themes. Kinda like the 2008 Corvettes or the Split Window coupe with classic style, beauty and just right in the curves, with pop-up headlights.
   Bring back the Affordable Corvette with a simple front engine V-8, 6-speed transmission, new colors and a sleek curvy body style in Coupe and Convertible for $50,000 USD – then build a Corvette Boutique system to sell and service new Corvettes in the U.S.
   OK, there’s my concept of the next generation of Corvettes, a new vehicle to be affordable for every age group of Americans, to be fun to drive and look great doing it.
   Thanks for listening! Corvettes Rule!

2. Jeffrey,

   I agree with many of your points, but a few thoughts.

   Not that I want to defend Trump (shiver), but the gas guzzler tax goes back to 1980, meaning, the Carter administration.

   I always wondered why they didn’t revamp the C7 and do an entry level Corvette. But I suspect, when it comes right down to it, the same mind set for Corvette exists for Ferrari and Porsche – the pre-owned car is the entry level car.

   And even a used Corvette isn’t “cheap”. It is still a luxury buy and a good one starts in the low $20k range. Yes, much cheaper, but compared to general used cars… also, insurance is much higher for a Vette than a Camry, let’s say.

   I bought my 2006 coupe in 2017 for $23k. Yellow/black, LS2, MN6. Just what you are describing, But since the C8 came out, and with the market shift caused by COVID, my C6 has increased in value! Gotta love market forces, eh?

   I will be curious if they take this tact. I mean, they still have all the tooling to build the C7 again, and call them both the C9, with caveats…

3. If the past predicts the future, the C9 will have a new look for the rear end that will upgrade to active aero. There will be some small changes forward but not many and why would they , it works.. Corvettes are not built for poor people . It is a Toy and big boy toys are expensive. The C8 is the Best Corvette yet , i have 2 today. If you dream of a C8 , now is the time to jump because , there have been some really good deals on BaT…… safe travels 2 All

4. I’ve gotta disagree to a point with Jeffrey. I’m not sure a $200,000 Corvette is the way to go. However the entry level concept has been discussed here and has merit. I’m not thinking Camaro – I’m thinking an update to what I just purchased. A Kappa. I bought a Saturn Sky. Basic 2 seater. No concern about room for golf clubs. A small, fun, quick car. Several people are dropping LS-3 engines into the Sky/Solstice. But the turbo 4 is great or go with a 6. No fancy electronics. The Miata has been a success for years, Chevy can turn the Kappa into something better than a Miata. Don’t call it a Corvette, a Corvette is meant to be affordable, but also an aspiration. If everyone could buy one it loses its aura. About 100,000 Kappas were sold in just over three years and that was through a recession with two dying nameplates.

5. Simple comment that will get me flamed for sure. I don’t like the way the C9 looks.

6. Wow guys … you put some serious thought into your comments. Thanks for taking the time. Fun to read your thoughts / suggestions. I too must point out that the gas guzzler tax was instituted in 1978 in what was called the “Energy Tax Act” and effective in the 1980 and forward model year cars.
   As for changes, my requests are simple. Make gull wing doors standard equipment as the current doors encourage dings with their length. Also, please shave off a couple hundred pounds of gross vehicle weight and offer a Paint Protection package from the factory. Also, make sure the local dealership can actually fix a Z06 engine, as I’m told that some shops shy away from that technology !
   That’s all I got gentleman.
   Happy Halloween and Cheers !

7. Got to be expensive to keep up with the Jones. Also GM needs to make a lot of money off Corvettes so Mary can keep getting her big bonuses.

8. Was the Corvette ever truly “affordable” to the masses? As an old geezer, I recall when I came out of college and got a real job in corporate America, it paid a little more than $7000/year. The new Corvette I lusted over was about $5500, so a little simple math indicates the equivalent situation today with a “base” Stingray would require a $100,000 starting salary and at $80,000 salary, it would just be the same dream given the same situation with taxes, rent, insurance, etc. Or as I saw with others several times, that dream fulfilled ended up being repossessed and down payment lost after six or eight months. Work harder/smarter.

9. As a lifelong Corvette owner, buying my first new one, a ’67 coupe, when I was an 18-year-old Corvette mechanic at a Detroit Chevy dealer. I do not agree at all with using a cheap model to water down the car. Owning an expensive Corvette, just like Cadillac in its day, was prestige, and when you drove it, people knew you had money; you were looked at like the guy who made it. That’s one reason people wanted to own a Caddy or Vette. By the way, a base Corvette is not considered an expensive car today. So, there is already an affordable Corvette for most people. Many people are paying $100,000 for a pickup truck. The name Corvette as a brand is worth its weight in gold; a cheap one would tarnish its reputation, which was established in 1953. It has been proven that you can ruin a brand in a second by making a mistake, and it will never recover. If you want a $50,000 Corvette too bad, I also want a new $50,000 4000 square foot home, too bad for me. Like me, if someone wants a Corvette badly enough, they will find a way to increase their income and or save for it, like I did all my life, owning 8 Corvettes. Currently, I have two: a C8 and a ’59 dual quad body-off-frame show car. If you can’t buy a new one, buy a used one for $50,000; it is still a thrill.

10. C9 will not drop in 2028. I will bet my house against that.

    My response to the TLDR posts above is; that’s what the Camaro was for. GM needs to offer F/R with a manual in some kind of coupe or sedan. Permanently. Don’t water down the Corvette.

    As someone else alluded to, there’s already half a dozen performance marquees that GM could build a car under. Replace the Camaro with any of those (eg. Firebird) and they can probably sell several years of that to nostalgists. Repeat with other marquees.

11. My opinion is C9 will come out in ’29 or ’30 model year. I still think pushrod V8 in the base Stingray car and TT OHC V8 will be here in an upgraded model. It would be silly for them to make investment in Gemini and drop the tech (blackwing notwithstanding). Some active aero on the spoilers but I definitely thing C9 will be an evolution, not a complete redesign. A lot of the frame and substructure I can see them keeping, and the styling will not look like the concept cars but will be in family with C8. I don’t want electrification myself but its going to stay.

    I’d rather they make sure to train the techs to properly work on the cars they build.

12. Manual trans and a more cohesive look in body design meaning cleaner smoother more flowing lines.

13. Wow! Excellent article and comments here. I wish Jefferey Thomas would come out of his shell and tell us his real thoughts though!

    I love that Corvettes are being compared to those fancy European apparatuses that cost significantly more. They need to continue in that direction IMHO. On costs, well 24,000 more C8s have been sold than C7 in the same number of years, so looks like price isn’t a thing. I’d love to see active aero on C9 to decrease the “buts”. The ZR1 could’ve been faster at Nueburgring, BUT for that giant tail. Keep pressing forward GM!

14. Very interesting comments and ideas. I think the C8 styling is beautiful and exciting. I also think it is reasonably priced for what you get. I don’t think we need active aero, your sure as hell not going to be using it driving locally. I agree with the destination charge being a rip off if you go to Bowling green to take delivery, like I did. Just my two cents.

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