We just got our first taste of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette only a few weeks ago and came away impressed as well as excited about what future versions—is that you, flat-plane crank Z06?—will bring. And though Chevrolet recently halted 2020 orders, with 2021 order books not yet open to the public, your chance to drive the first-ever mid-engine Corvette is just one click away on the car rental site, Turo.
Per the listing, “The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here. The All-new mid-engine 2020 C8 Chevrolet Corvette has finally hit the streets and boy does it EXCEED everyone’s wildest expectations!” According to the renter, the C8 Corvette in question is VIN number 195 and is a “fully loaded 3LT with the Z51 package.” The color is Ceramic Matrix Gray with white and black GT2 style seats. They’ve also slapped some Vossen wheels onto it.
The renter also gave his own mini car review, saying, “I’ve owned and driven tons of sports cars in my life but this is truly on another level! I feel like I’m always driving a Formula 1 race car. You don’t even miss the manual transmission with the crisp up and downshifts coming from the 8 Speed DCT transmission. The steering feels like it could pull as many Gs as you can throw at it. The 495 HP Z51 enhanced LT2 [V-8] sounds powerful and throaty, especially on a cold start in sports mode! The car had never felt so stable.”
While we’ll forgive the renter’s hyperbole, the new mid-engine Corvette is a stellar automobile and punches well above its weight class. When we had racer Robb Holland get behind the wheel, he sang the base model’s praises, saying, “For now, the 2020 Chevy Corvette has me more excited than any other American sports car in quite some time. We’ve finally got a horse that can go head-to-head with anything Europe or Japan has to offer. No apologies, no excuses. It’s the long-awaited sequel to Ford vs. Ferrari, only this time it’s Corvette vs. The World. Just how Zora would’ve wanted it.”
According to the Turo listing, you can play with the new C8 Corvette yourself for just $382 per day, though that’s only good for 100 miles per day, 500 for the week, and weirdly, 750 miles for an entire month loan. There’s also a significant “but” to the listing, though it’s not because of our current pandemic.
Below the renter’s praise and spec sheet, they added a disclaimer that reads, “The vehicle is currently not available to rent this week but I’m listing it so you guys may be able to start getting your bookings in. This listing will be largely incomplete compared to my usual standard until next weekend or so. The vehicle is undergoing Ceramic Coating paint protection this week and has on some temporary wheels from Vossen until its forged set is complete at the end of this week. The estimated availability should start on 3/23/20. If it’s any earlier or later, I will adjust the availability accordingly.”
The price seems steep, especially since the renter is modifying the car with new wheels that could mess with the factory setup. But given that this is the first mid-engine Corvette, it’s not as flagrantly outrageous as some dealership markups. Maybe a day behind the wheel practicing some social distancing is worth the asking price?
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