What some thought might become a unicorn has finally made it into production. The 2020 Corvette convertible, first thought to see production by the end of 2019, started rolling off of the line today in Bowling Green, Kentucky. If you were one of the first to get on the list for a 2020 C8 ‘vert you may actually get one.

Though, to be honest, the Corvette factory has been making 2020 C8 Convertibles for a few months. These were used in evaluations for the Captured Test Fleet. The CTF cars will eventually get sold as used 2020 Corvettes.

There will be some slight convertible delays due to quality-control holds

Production should ramp up as we get through August according to Corvette Blogger. There will be some slight delays due to quality-control holds. We should all know they are finally out to customers once they start popping up on YouTube. With the articulating hardtop, YouTube should soon be flooded showing how it retracts. Or, possibly on Christmas cards for those that do this type of thing.

With so many delays it is hard to keep track of all of the times production was supposed to have begun. Back in May, the official announcement said July 20 was the ‘vert’s starting date. That was also the time Chevy announced it would push back 2021 Corvette production until November 2020. Early reports had convertible production starting on February 10. Right around the time, we all became aware of the coronavirus. That seems like five years ago!

Chevy opened orders for the convertible in January. Back in November, the Build and Price Configurator popped up on Chevy’s website. This was right after a Rapid Blue convertible was shown at the LA Auto Show. Possibly the same Rapid Blue ‘vert made the official Corvette convertible debut at the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, at the beginning of November.

But then the official, official convertible debut was July 18, 2019

October 2019, was the official debut of the convertible. But then the official, official debut was July 18, 2019, at the Tustin Blimp Hangars in Tustin, California. But there were only images of it and no actual convertible. Needless to say, there have been a lot of reveals and debuts and such. To non-enthusiasts, it must seem a bit insane. Maybe it actually is?

With the UAW strike in September and the subsequent COVID-19 aftermath, there were rumors the convertible would be pushed back into 2021 production. That is why the few pre-production models were thought to be unicorns. Unfortunately, the few that were made would have to be crushed as pre-production stuff can’t be migrated into the public domain.

So there you have the exhaustive stop-start, debut upon debut, the realization of the 2020 C8 Corvette convertible. It’s almost as hand-wringing as the Bronco’s reveal. Will this be the new normal for car introductions. If so, we’re waiting with bated breath for the reveal of the revised Silverado front end. Man, is that ugly or what?