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New Details on the C8 Corvette Launch Editions for the U.K.

New Details on the C8 Corvette Launch for the U.K.

This week we’ve been lucky to come across new information related to the C8 Corvette as Chevy is working to begin exporting the Right-Hand-Drive (RHD) Corvettes to the U.K., Japan, and other countries later this year.

Today we have some information that is directly related to the C8 Corvette Launch for the United Kingdom. Chevrolet announced last year that a special “Launch Edition” model would be made available for the market and now we have the specifics on what the launch edition will include.

From Chevrolet’s U.K. Marketing Bulletin:

The first production months of the European Corvette Stingray will be reserved for an exclusive launch edition. It will be a fully-equipped Stingray, featuring high-performance equipment and distinctive design elements, and available in 16 individual interior/exterior color combinations: 8 Coupe and 8 Convertible versions.

Both Coupe and Convertible will be equipped standard with desirable equipment, such as the Magnetic Ride Control and the highest interior trim available, including premium carbon-fiber details. The exterior design will be elevated by Carbon Flash-painted elements, such as wheels, rear spoiler, and outside mirrors. The Convertible will include roof and nacelles painted in Carbon Flash. The Coupe will be equipped with Competition Sears whereas the Convertible will feature GT2 seats.

To elevate the driving experience even more, each launch edition (Coupe and Convertible) can be delivered with the new optional feature that is for the first time available on a Corvette: E60 Front Lift. This feature raises the front of the vehicle approximately 50 mm in less than 3 seconds at lower speeds (*up to 35 km/h).

To recap, each of the Launch Editions are 3LT trims with Magnetic Ride Control and the Z51 Performance Package. Customers will be able to select the exterior color and whether or not they want the optional Front Lift. Both models feature Nappa leather with seating surfaces and steering wheel in sueded microfiber, along with the carbon fiber interior trim.

The Launch Editions have a standardized color palette based on the Exterior choice. Note that that guide we have has substituted the new 2022 internal GM color names for the soon-to-be-retired Sebring Orange, Shadow Gray, and Zeus Bronze:

C8 Corvette Coupe Configurations:

Arctic White: Jet Black Interior, Black Seatbelts, Black Calipers, No Stitching.
Black: Jet Black interior, Torch Red Seatbelts, Bright Red Calipers, Adrenaline Red Stitching.
Torch Red: Adrenaline Red Interior, Torch Red Seat Belts, Bright Red Calipers, No Stitching
Hypersonic Gray: Natural Interior, Tan Seat Belts, Edge Red Calipers, No Stitching.
Rapid Blue: Jet Black Interior, Tension Blue Seats, Yellow Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Elkhart Lake Blue: Adrenaline Red Interior, Black Seat Belts, Bright Red Calipers, No Stitching.
Accelerate Yellow: Jet Black Interior, Yellow Seat Belts, Yellow Brake Calipers, Yellow Stitching.
Ceramic Matrix Gray: Jet Black Interior, Yellow Seat Belts, Yellow Brake Calipers, Yellow Stitching.

C8 Corvette Convertible Configurations:

Torch Red: Jet Black Interior, Black Seat Belts, Black Brake Calipers, No Stitching
Arctic White: Sky Cool Gray two-tone Interior, Black Seat Belts, Edge Red Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Silver Flare: Adrenaline Red two-tone Interior, Black Seat Belts, Bright Red Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Caffeine Brown: Natural two-tone Interior, Black Seat Belts, Black Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Rapid Blue: Sky Cool Gray Interior, Tension Blue Seat Belts, Black Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Elkhart Lake Blue: Natural Interior, Tan Seat Belts, Black Brake Calipers, No Stitching.
Mist Red: Sky Cool Gray two-tone Interior, Black Seat Belts, Edge Red Calipers, No Stitching.
Amplify Orange: Jet Black Interior, Orange Seat Belts, Black Brake Calipers, No Stitching.

Once the Launch roll-out period is completed, buyers in the United Kingdom will be able to purchase a 2LT version as the standard version with choice of seats (GT1, GT2, or Competition) with the Z51 Performance Package offered as standard equipment. The optional 3LT version will allow additional colors and custom leather-wrapped interiors along with a choice of GT2 or Competition seats.

Last year, Chevrolet Europe announced the list prices for the generously equipped launch edition models will start in the UK at £81,700 ($115,049.94 USD) for the coupe and at £87,110 ($122,668.30 USD) for the convertible. As it’s been nearly a year since this was posted, we are not sure if the pricing will stay as listed.

Ordering details for the Launch Edition are not presented, but the person we spoke with suggested that orders could open within the next month or two with the first deliveries coming sometime later this fall. However, that is not yet set in stone.

Ian Allan Motors is the authorized distributor for Chevrolet in the United Kingdom. For questions about ordering your own C8 Corvette Launch Edition, contact them at [email protected] or visit www.ianallanvirginiawater.co.uk.

The Launch Edition configurations are the exact same configurations posted by the Corvette Prague dealership where we learned about the new 2022 Corvette exterior colors, and so we assume these configurations will be used throughout Europe with the only difference being the United Kingdom received Right-Hand-Drive vehicles while the rest of the continent will get the standard LHD configuration.

Source:
Chevrolet.com

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[VIDEO] 2020 Corvette vs Tesla and BMW at the Drag Strip

Youtuber RealWheelDrive aka Matt takes his 2020 Corvette to the drag strip and goes up against the Tesla Model S Performance as well as a BMW that makes over 700 hp.

We know how well the Tesla performs at the track. That instantaneous torque that the electric motors provide makes the EV hard to beat. And that’s pretty much what you’ll see here.

What you’ll see is that almost every case is that Matt gets the jump on them all before getting passed at the end. That bodes well for the upcoming Z06 which should have the additional horsepower to finish these races strong.

But like most guys that drag their cars, beating the guy beside you is pretty sweet but beating your personal best makes you feel like a winner all night. Matt’s best in the quarter mile is currently 11.218 and he’s now rocking a custom exhaust that adds 19 horsepower and 15 lb-ft of torque while saving 30 pounds. Will that help Matt into the 10s? Let’s find out!

From RearWheelDrive via YouTube:

Welcome back to the Channel everyone! Today we take the C8 Corvette to the track! Thanks for watching!

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Source:
YouTube

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Saturday Morning Corvette Comic: Don’t Park Your Corvette Next to the Bosses ‘Luxury’ Car

Nobody told Barnes that the boss is a little sensitive when it comes to his employees parking their nicer cars next to his “luxury” car.

You can browse more of our Corvette comics here!

Source:
JerryKing.com

[PICS] Another Zora Easter Egg? This C8 Corvette Has The Original Chief Engineer’s Stamp Of Approval

[PICS] Another Zora Easter Egg? This C8 Corvette Has Original Chief Engineer's Stamp of Approval

It looks like there might be another “Zora Head” Easter Egg now gracing the C8 Corvettes!

Ryan Jaycox posted a video and pics of his find to the C8 Corvette Owners (and friends) page on Facebook. During a service stop at his Chevrolet dealer, Ryan was checking out the underbody as it was on the lift and spied the stamping of Zora on the underbody panel.

Ryan posted to the group saying “Today was the first time I’ve been under my C8 and I thought this was AWESOME, check out what’s stamped on the bottom.”

[PICS] Another Zora Easter Egg? This C8 Corvette Has The Original Chief Engineer's Stamp Of Approval

The video is inconclusive about the exact location of the stamping with Ryan adding “if I remember right it was stamped towards the center of the bottom.”.

Chevy’s Corvette Engineers have used the Zora Head badges since the beginning of the program. Inside General Motors, the C8 Corvette was codenamed ZERV, a nod to Zora’s CERV program (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) in the 1960s. If you didn’t have a Zora Head on your GM ID, you couldn’t get into the secure areas where development was taking place. The team would tell us whenever they were confronted with a problem, they would ask “What would Zora do?” for guidance.

The Zora Head badges were revealed to the public in April 2019 when Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter drove GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, in a camouflaged C8 Corvette prototype featuring the stickers in New York City. At the end of September, the badges began showing up as printed on the bottom of the passenger-side of the front windshield.

[PICS] Another Zora Easter Egg? C8 Corvette Has Original Chief Engineer's Stamp of Approval

Zora Arkus-Duntov advocated for the Corvette to go mid-engine after racer John Fitch was nearly cooked in a front-engine Corvette racecar. Over the years a number of mid-engine and rear-engine prototypes were produced, but Zora found resistance to the plan at every turn. After he retired in 1975, his successor Dave McLellan would also take a look at a mid-engine Corvette and despite several new mid-ship Corvettes built for styling and engineering purposes, it would languish until the current team began exploring the concept back in the mid-2000s.

Source:
Ryan Jaycox / Facebook

GM Issues Technical Service Bulletin Over Incorrect Radio Label on the 2020 Corvette

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

At least no parts are required to fix a Technical Service Bulletin issued recently by General Motors for the 2020 Corvette.

The TSB points out that a label with the wrong radio frequency identification number was affixed to the back of the radio display in the cabin of some C8 Stingrays.

The fix is simple, though. The dealer will just print a new label in color and place it inside the owner’s manual of the affected car. Reports say that GM has corrected the applicable Certificate Identification Numbers for the Near-Field Communication device with an updated label that’s added to the back of the radio display. Owners are also asked to place the letter with the new CIN in the glove compartment with their owner’s manual.

2020 Corvettes in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are affected by the TSB, but we would assume the remaining 2020 models still waiting to be produced would already have the updated label.

Source:
gmauthority.com

[PICS] 2020 Corvette Wearing Vertini RFS1.9 Custom Wheels Finished in Brushed Dual Gunmetal

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So I was cruising the ‘gram earlier today looking for a suitable subject for #WheelsWednesday when I came across this photo of a Black 2020 Corvette wearing Vertini custom forged wheels.

What struck me about the Vertini RFS1.9 forged wheels is how the spokes resemble blades of a turbine. That design gives the feeling of the Corvette being in motion even while standing still.

I also like the choice of color from the owner (@markoon13). Vertini calls this Brushed Dual Gunmetal and it helps add color to the Black Stingray without going to bright silver or chromies.

The Vertini RSF1.9 wheels are made using the latest German manufacturing process that stretching the wheels with pressurized rollers to the desired sizes. Vertini says the process creates a “lightweight multi-spoke wheels with pleasing aesthetics and aggressive fitments for European, Asian, and American vehicles.” Three levels of concave profiles are available. Two colors are offered with Brushed Dual Bronze joining the Brushed Dual Gunmetal.

The RFS1.9 wheels on this Corvette Stingray are staggered 19×8.5 fronts and 20×11 rears and they each cost $325 and $470 respectively.

Here’s the original post from Vertini Wheels:

Bonus pic! Found this also from Vertini showing the RFS1.9 custom wheels on a Sebring Orange C8 Corvette:

As always, leave a comment with your thoughts. Last week’s post on the HRE Liquid Metal Wheels generated 30 comments!

Source:
Vertini Wheels / Instagram

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[PICS] Chevrolet Adds Zora to the C8 Corvette’s Windshield

Photo Credit: Dave Salvatore / Kerbeck

Although Chevrolet has already completed a little over half of its planned production of 2020 Corvettes for the year, that doesn’t mean they are done making enhancements as production rolls on. Our friends at Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City sent us some new photos from their latest shipment of C8s which just arrived from Bowling Green. The new pics show the addition of two subtle graphics found on the 2020 Corvette’s windshield.

Here is Dave Salvatore from Kerbeck with the news:

“Two of our cars had these additions to the windshield. On the passenger side, lower corner, is a silhouette of Zora Duntov which has to be one of the coolest things I’ve seen on this new car! On the driver side, lower corner, etched into the tint are a set of crossed flags and the words Team Corvette!”

The Zora graphic was used by “Team Corvette” during development as part of the identification system that would allow GM employees into the secure work areas where the car was being developed. The public got its first look at the Zora graphic which were hidden as easter eggs on a camouflaged C8 Corvette as the mid-engine prototype was publically acknowledged for the first time in April 2019 with current Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter driving GM CEO Mary Barra to a “Tunnels to Towers” celebration in New York City.

For those new to the car, Zora Arkus-Duntov was the Corvette’s first chief engineer who took charge of the under-powered two-door roadster and transformed into a world-class sports car. One of his dreams was always to make a mid-engine Corvette and we know he would be smiling about the current C8 Corvette today.

Dave tells us that the two Corvettes with the new windshield graphics are the highest VINs yet received by the dealer. From the pics, we can one of the VINs is #11077. He has two more truckloads coming in later this week and will confirm if they all contain the new windshield graphics.

Dave rightly concludes that “Now, some Corvette owners will get to have Zora go along for a ride with you every time you take out your C8.” We love that thought as C8 Corvette owners couldn’t ask for a better co-pilot or patron saint than the famous Corvette engineer!

Source:
Photos by Dave Salvatore

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QUICK SHIFTS: C8 vs 911 vs GT500, Daily Driver C8, BMW M3, Tesla Goes Plaid, C4 vs Nissan 300ZX, and More!

Welcome to another fun-filled edition of Quick Shifts! Quick Shifts is a content feature here at CorvetteBlogger featuring links to Corvette and automotive-related stories of interest. The content that we have hand-selected for you this week includes a C8 vs. 911 and GT500 comparison test, daily driving a C8, the new M3, the Model S going Plaid, the C4 taking on the 300ZX Turbo, and more!

FIRST GEAR:

Edmunds own C8 Corvette has been the gift that keeps giving since they purchased it a couple of weeks ago! The most recent adventure that Carlos Lago has roped the Rapid Blue mid-engine marvel into sees it face off with rivals of both domestic and international flavors. As we’ve come to expect, the other American in the test is the 760 HP Shelby GT500 (seen here in Twister Orange, a great complement to the ‘Vette’s hue) and, while other publications have opted to pit the Stingray against the Cayman GT4, Carlos and Co. went the traditional route by sourcing a 911 for German representation. See how our hero fares by clicking here.

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SECOND GEAR:

The Drive’s Jerry Perez seems to have had a similar idea as he announced this week that he will be replacing his daily-driven Civic with a new Stingray (with body-colored vents!) for a short period of time. He will be suffering through this hardship in the name of science, and unlike most other reviews that we’ve seen almost weekly for a year now, Jerry will be focusing on how well the C8 does “normal car things” and he wants YOUR help! From the article: “this will involve taking my kid to school, going to the grocery store, running all kinds of errands, and parking a supercar-looking sports car on the street… I have to ask: what do you want to know about the new Stingray?” There is still some time to chime in and see what questions you can get answered by going to thedrive.com.

Daily Driving the 2020 Corvette Stingray

Photo Credit: Jerry Perez

THIRD GEAR:

Outside of our immediate interest group, the big news of the week was the official unveiling of the next-generation of the legendary BMW M3 and its two-door M4 sibling. The important specs are (up to) 503 HP, a manual transmission, and even a first-ever wagon variant, but the biggest news is its controversial styling. It led many to wonder if it is the ugliest BMW of all time and renders of how it “should” have looked popped up online almost immediately. Personally though, for C6 Z06-rivaling power in a six-speed wagon with a killer green paint job, I’d be willing to forgive any number of exterior deformities!

Photo Credit: BMW

FOURTH GEAR:

As difficult as it is for your humble author to care about anything in the EV sector, regardless of how impressive it looks on paper, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the news that came out of Tesla’s annual “battery day” celebration. Along with promising a $25,000 car in about three years, the big announcement from battery day was the addition of a 1,100 HP “Plaid” version to the Model S lineup. The working prototypes of the Plaid are astonishingly quick! Elon Musk is claiming a sub-two-second sprint to 60 mph and a quarter-mile E.T. of under nine ticks. It can corner too! Musk released an onboard video of the Plaid running Laguna Seca through Tesla’s official Twitter account, and, at 1:30.4, its time around the famed circuit was faster than the one posted by the C7 ZR1 (though, we have to point out that we still don’t believe that Randy Pobst and Motor Trend gave the ZR1 a fair shake at Best Driver’s Car 2019, where the ZR1’s official time came from!). For fellow devotees to internal combustion, McLaren will wrap up our forward gears with some statistics of their own. The British automaker announced this week that their bonkers new 765LT can run from 0 to 124 mph (200 kph) in 7 seconds flat and cover 1,320 feet in under 10 seconds. While this doesn’t sound overly impressive next to the Tesla’s dipping into the 8’s, it isn’t too shabby (it is remarkable, actually) for a rear-wheel-driver that has to (has the joy of) rev to make its power and torque. We are eagerly awaiting the 765’s turn at Laguna Seca, it should be hot on the heels of its outrageously priced, record-holding sibling!

REVERSE:

As they have many times since the pandemic (COVID, not C8 Fever) hit, our friends at Car and Driver took care of Reverse for us by posting an excellent throwback Corvette piece this week. Spurred by the exciting Nissan 400Z reveal last week, C&D took us back 30 years for a look at how the Z car’s ancestor stacked up against the contemporaneous carrier of the crossed flags. See what the great John Phillips thought of the two cars right here and take a moment to appreciate how fortunate Corvette fans are to have had four different and wonderful incarnations of their favorite car since this test was written. Z (and ZX) aficionados definitely haven’t been so lucky! It is also worth reflecting upon just how stellar America’s sports car has become, even in base trim. The Plastic Fantastic has come so far that to recreate these old tests (vs. the Z or Supra) would seem silly. Chevrolet has progressed their halo car beyond the simple realm of the sports car, into a whole new league, without allowing the price to get out of hand. Thank you for sticking with it, GM! It is an incredible time to love Corvettes!

1991 Corvette Tested Against Nissan 300ZX

Photo Credit: Ken Hanna

Overdrive:

Since there aren’t any 5-speed Corvettes, we had to turn to one of the old “Doug Nash’s” overdrive gears for a bonus selection that has been knocking on the QS door for a couple of weeks. Recently, Motor Trend offered up a fun activity that a friend and I once attempted for our native Colorado. The object of the game is to come up with vehicles that share their name with a professional sports franchise (or a locale in the Centennial state in my version). Grab a notepad (or iPad) and jot down as many as you can think of before peeking at MT’s official list here.

Here is what we came up with for the Colorado-specific version of the game too, if you are curious:

Locations: Chevy Colorado, Kia Telluride, Chrysler Aspen, AMC Eagle or Eagle Talon (Eagle is a lesser known town by Vail on i70), and the Sterling 825 (another town, on the way to Nebraska).

Teams: Ford Bronco, Chevrolet Avalanche, the Ford Nugget (a new transit camper van!), the Skoda Rapid (had to look that one up after my buddy reminded me that we have a MLS team), and a couple of college representatives; the Ford (Air Force) Falcon and the (Colorado State) Ram 1500. Can you think of any that we (or MT) missed? Does your state have even more cars with shared names than mine? Sound off in the comment section and, until next time, stay classy, Corvette Nation!

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

Previous Quick Shifts:
Corvette Racing at Le Mans, C8 Reviews, New Nissan Z-Car, Super Comparo, Edmunds C8, and More!
Base C8 Review, C8 Luggage Test, C3 Love, EV News, Continuations, Corvette’s First Rivalry
C8 vs Porsche Cayman, Spending $80K, MB Revealed, C8.R in iRacing, Autoblog Review, and More!

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[PICS] Same C8 Corvette Prototype…Different Day

Photo Credit: Derrick Fell

One of our readers sent us these photos of a camouflaged C8 Corvette in the Rocky Mountains as the car is being tested. It’s the same prototype that we shared yesterday as the license plates match. We were told the car was parked off of I-70 at an altitude of around 9,500 feet.

Derrick writes to us about the car and says, “The story about vets driving around in Colorado. I saw the same car! The guy had a laptop out and the car was clearly on inside but silent outside, it was at an exit on I-70 around 9500ft elevation.” “I could see all the gauges on and lit up but it wasn’t emitting any audible exhaust noise, maybe it was in the accessory position or potential hybrid situation, unsure.”

Hmmm, on…but silent? Hard to say what’s happening without being there and even then we are probably reading into this more than we should. But we do like seeing these prototypes roaming the countryside as the Corvette Team continues pushing forward with the C8 platform.

Thanks Derrick for sharing these photos. If you come across members of the Corvette team testing any C8 prototypes, let us know!

Source:
Photos by Derrick Fell

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Chevrolet Has Built and is Now Testing Right Hand Drive Corvettes for Export

The Corvette Team couldn’t be at Carlisle this year, so they offered a Virutal Corvette Presentation hosted by Lance Miller of Carlise Events. We touched on this Sunday but wanted to share the entire conversation about the Right Hand Drive C8 Corvettes.

During the Q&A session, the question was asked to Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles if the team has built any pilots of the right hand drive Corvettes for export to Australia and the U.K.

While we were expecting to hear that they can’t talk about future product, Tadge answered the question by saying, “Yes, some of us are actually driving them around…it’s very strange to be driving a Corvette with the steering wheel on the right hand side. We’ve built some and we’ll be doing some of our preproduction testing now in the US.”

With the moving of the engine to behind the driver and the lack of a manual transmission, the clean sheet redesign allowed the C8 Corvette to be offered as a factory-built right hand drive model. The markets for right hand drive models include Australia, New Zeeland, the U.K., Japan, India, and South Africa.

The first export market for the right hand drive Chevrolet Corvette will be Japan, which saw the number of orders triple following its debut at the Tokyo Auto Show back in January. “The car sold out almost immediately in Japan when we introduced it. That will be our first foray into right hand drive,” said Tadge.

The first photo of the right hand drive Corvettes was released during the media rollout back in February and shows a near mirror image of the traditional LHD Corvette. Tadge explains some of the processes behind the new model:

“In our car, everything is driver-focused, everything is angled towards the driver, the cockpit wraps around you, and so when you do a right hand drive, we didn’t want to dumb that down, we wanted those customers to have the same exact experience whether it’s Japan, U.K., Australia. We wanted them to have the same driver-focused interior and so what we actually did was tool-up all those unique parts that are kinda mirror shaped so that we can flip them over to the other side and it would just be an exact mirror of the rest of the world’s car, the left hand drive cars.”

Harlan Charles also enjoyed driving the early prototype right hand drive cars at the Milford Proving Grounds and shares which country’s RHD model he liked the most.

“I really like the Australian car because it’s all localized and so the navigation, the voice, she has that cool Australian voice that comes through…A lot of fun.”

Chevrolet has previously stated that that the mid-engine Corvette will be available in Japan and Europe starting in the second half of 2021 with both the Coupe and Convertible versions of the Corvette Stingray offered as a right hand drive model.

You can watch the entire presentation here. The discussion on the RHD Corvettes starts at the 43:40 mark:

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