RHD Corvette C8

[Petrol Pete]

I know it's not a Mercedes Benz but I was intrigued to see Chevrolet has seen fit to manufacture the new Stingray in Right hand drive .

I know it will probably be built down to a price and not screwed together very well - Bit like the Camaro SS I had on hire in the USA a few years back, I drove it everyday for 3 weeks and with it's lack of build quality and strange ergonomics you just knew it was 'cheap'..as it felt cheap.

But , a mid engine NA 6.2 litre V8 dry sump engine delivering 495bhp bolted in a RWD aluminium chassis with a fibreglass body weighing in at 1500kg costing around £80K (thats the bit that counts me out) has to be worth a look.

I hear the odd shaped steering wheel has already come in for some serious stick with journalist. But it's a mad looking car and something 'different' there is only one dealer in the UK who has already taken a bunch of deposits.

 

[moodi]

Game changer, I'll be buying one ASAP.

 

[C240Sport97]

if they really are doing a RHD version, they will need more than 1 dealer in the UK

 

[Mactech]

Certainly appears to be great 'bang for buck'...and possibly other noises in the cockpit

 

[Petrol Pete]

By all accounts other than the dry sump and cyl shut down system the V8 is a basic lump that will be cheap to service. The rest of the car is probably not too high tech either, but haven't we had too much of that already ?

 

[Petrol Pete]

if they really are doing a RHD version, they will need more than 1 dealer in the UK

Ian Allen Motors . Virginia Water , Surrey.

 

[grober]

Key to there being a RHD version is the fact its now mid engined. The difficulty with producing RHD versions of the previous front engined Corvettes was that the V8 was canted over to the passenger side [lhd] of the engine bay to achieve a lower bonnet line meaning it was virtually impossible to fit a RHD steering mechanism conversion ! So the top man at Bauer Millet once explained to me-and they used to import them back in the day.
Bauer Millett closing down - Page 1 - Corvettes - PistonHeads

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[C240Sport97]

By all accounts other than the dry sump and cyl shut down system the V8 is a basic lump that will be cheap to service. The rest of the car is probably not too high tech either, but haven't we had too much of that already ?

why should the dry sump make it more expensive to service?

 

[Bellow]

why should the dry sump make it more expensive to service?

Because the oil tank/reservoir needs attention also and generally, refilling is a more complicated procedure.

In reality though, I doubt that it's as 'cheap to sevice' as all that. This isn't the simple old school pushrod V8 the yanks knocked out for decades. This will be as electronic and emission kit laden as any other engine on the market.

 

[SW18]

Ian Allen Motors . Virginia Water , Surrey.

Does Clive Sutton not also import these? They are usually a go-to dealer for new US cars (at a price).

 

[Tonygw]

I saw a review on this newer model and there was little bad to say about it. It seems as though they have finally caught us europeans up. I even love the new styling..

I would buy one... if I had some spare cash...
Especially now the roads are pretty empty due to the horrible virus spreading around the world. Small mercy's..

 

[Atavus]

I don’t expect it’s much different to an LS-3, so it is likely to be ok to look after. Not sure the car is my cup of tea.

 

[Petrol Pete]

What I can't get my head around is the brake set up. Bigger discs on the rear than on the front (even on the sport model) because of the 40/60 to rear weight bias.

So on their first ever mid engine car Chevrolet go against the collective wisdom of Ferrari,Lamborghini, and just about every car manufacturer in the world.

This has probably been tried before and I think it might be that some fast cars have the same diameter discs front and rear , but it's just odd to me. But if it work's who am I to say it's wrong ? Just odd.

 

[grober]

There's an increasing tendancy for manufacturers [ Mercedes included] to beef up the rear brakes in their models not for retardation but because thay are increasingly called on to provide traction and /or stability control by selective brake application. I'm guessing this may also apply to the Corvette?

 

[Petrol Pete]

There's an increasing tendancy for manufacturers [ Mercedes included] to beef up the rear brakes in their models not for retardation but because thay are increasingly called on to provide traction and /or stability control by selective brake application. I'm guessing this may also apply to the Corvette?

I hear you, but this is normally done with an auxiliary caliper, but what you say makes sense. We might be heading for a time when the front pads wear 75% less than the rears !

 

[flowrider]

The C8 is surely going to get Ferrari and Lamborghini thinking. How will they compete with a $60k supercar.

 

[Petrol Pete]

The C8 is surely going to get Ferrari and Lamborghini thinking. How will they compete with a $60k supercar.

They won't be able to. It's a game changer. Some people will still buy the badge of course.

 

[Atavus]

Can’t imagine the Italians feeling a need to compete with it. Way below their entry level pricing.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Can’t imagine the Italians feeling a need to compete with it. Way below their entry level pricing.

They can't compete with it on price, some will struggle to compete on performance as well. I don't think the guy with 3 Ferrari in his collection is going to rush out and buy one, but many who might want Ferrari type performance without the associated crippling running/purchase costs of a Ferrari/Lamborghini might .

 

[moodi]

They can't compete with it on price, some will struggle to compete on performance as well. I don't think the guy with 3 Ferrari in his collection is going to rush out and buy one, but many who might want Ferrari type performance without the associated crippling running/purchase costs of a Ferrari/Lamborghini might .

Pretty much this.