What Year Is the C8 Corvette?
The eighth generation of Chevrolet’s beloved performance nameplate, the C8 Corvette Stingray, constitutes an evolutionary step for the storied model. Most importantly, the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette ditched the traditional front-engine layout of the C7 in favor of a world-class mid-engine platform. So, what years and models are included in the C8’s short tenure?
What is the first year for the C8 Corvette?
The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is the first year of the C8 model. The C8, representing the eighth generation of the storied performance car, is still in production. Considering the C7’s seven-year tenure, the eighth-gen model has a few years ahead of it.
The eighth-gen ‘Vette replaced the C7, which celebrated its tenure with the most powerful iteration of the model ever, the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. That was also the last year of the supercharged models, the C7 Z06 and ZR1. Instead, the C8 Stingray, Z06, and upcoming E-Ray will continue to use naturally aspirated V8s, barring some factory addition of forced induction.
What is special about the C8 Corvette?
The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray completely redesigned the beloved Kentucky performance car. Most notably, the C8 adopted a midengine platform, ditching the C7’s front-engine application. As a result, the C8 is the most balanced and well-distributed Corvette platform in the model’s history.
Moreover, the eighth-generation model’s Z06 trims are the only flat-plane crank V8-powered vehicle in the performance car’s long tenure. The C7 Z06 used a supercharged 6.2L V8 instead of the new model’s dramatic 5.5L V8. The C8 lineup will also include the first hybrid and all-wheel drive (AWD) variant, the E-Ray.
How many C8 models are there?
The C8 Corvette lineup includes the Stingray, Z06, and upcoming E-Ray for 2024. Moreover, the Stingray boasts coupes and convertibles from the 1LT to the range-topping 70th Anniversary trim. The base model Stingray 1LT starts at $65,895, and the 2023 70th Anniversary model pushes the price to $83,840.
The supercar-bashing Z06 is much pricier than the Stingray. Specifically, the entry-level C8 Z06 1LZ Coupe starts at around $109,295. However, the range-topping 3LZ Convertible swells the starting point up to $130,145, per Car and Driver. Still, the Z06 undercuts European competitors like the Porsche 911 Turbo by $50,000 or more.
What’s next for the C8 Corvette?
The latest development in the Corvette landscape is the hybrid-electric E-Ray. While the E-Ray was met with mixed reviews by enthusiasts and purists, the model is the fastest, most advanced Chevrolet Corvette in the model’s history.
