There Might Not Be a 2020 Chevy Corvette C8 Convertible After All
Turns out, building convertible Corvettes is not a job GM workers can do from home.
Producing enough of the 2020 Chevrolet C8 Corvette to satiate red-hot demand has not been easy. After an already delayed start caused by last year's UAW strike (talk about simpler times), assembly began in early February only to be halted in mid-March over obvious, global pandemic-related reasons. As a result, production of the drop-top Corvette Convertible may miss the 2020 model year entirely, potentially getting bumped into being a 2021-onwards-only car.
As pointed out by Muscle Cars & Trucks, Bowling Green plant manager Kai Spande told Corvette enthusiast and YouTuber Rick Conti in a phone interview that it's "too early to say" whether or not any 2020 model year convertibles will actually get built before the plant switches over to 2021 production in September. Given the current climate, we wouldn't be the least bit surprised if none do. Spande added that only 2,695 non-Convertible Corvettes were made before COVID-19 shut the Kentucky car factory down which, knowing Corvette owners, probably doesn't hurt the 2020 model's collectible appeal.
As for another silver lining, when customer versions of the C8 Convertible do materialize, it'll do so as a slightly improved 2021 model which will apparently come with standard wireless Apple CarPlay, MagneRide as a standalone option rather than a Z51-exclusive, and several new paint, stripe, and interior options, according to leaked order documents. Hopefully, the company will have the paint-chipping doors and wonky dash stitching worked out by then as well.
"Due to the current situation, we will resume production on Corvette when it is safe to do so," a Chevrolet spokesperson told The Drive. "We have no additional production information to provide at this time."
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