No more Holden, but RHD Corvette C8 will still be sold in Australia – GM Specialty Vehicles is the new arm

As Ford found out with the current Mustang, making a right-hand-drive version of a famous American car will pay for itself. Similarly, GM is going global with the Corvette, another legendary American nameplate – the eighth-generation ‘Vette is the first one ever to be designed with RHD in mind.

With a RHD C8 Corvette, big markets such as the UK, Japan, and Australia can also enjoy the forbidden fruit that is the American car. The signs are looking good – it’s reported that Chevrolet sold 300 C8s in just 60 hours in Japan! Australia was also promised the mid-engined performance car, but Holden is dead now, so how?

According to Cars Guide, the Corvette Stingray will still be coming to Australia, under the new General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) arm, which will focus on importing American muscle. It’s said that between 40 to 60 of existing Holden and HSV dealerships will be repurposed as GMSV showrooms, and the C8 will be joined by the Chevy Silverado pick-up truck and possibly Cadillacs, the Chevy Tahoe and the yet-to-appear Hummer EV in the future.

Word is that GMSV will start operations by the end of this year, but the Australian-spec Corvette is now expected to land Down Under in late 2021 or early 2022, a slight delay from 1H 2021.

With official RHD Corvettes in Japan and Australia, there is a chance of some reaching Malaysia as private imports, but don’t expect grey Mustang GT prices – the C8 is much higher up the performance car pyramid and is hot in demand.

Powered by a 6.2L LT2 small-block naturally-aspirated V8 with 495 hp and 637 Nm of torque, America’s sports car does the 0-60 mph (97 km/h) sprint in under three seconds when fitted with the Z51 Performance Package. The gearbox is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. This is not a “fast in a straight line” muscle car, but a very technical machine with much tech – more on the C8 Corvette Stingray here. There’s also a convertible version.

GALLERY: C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

The post No more Holden, but RHD Corvette C8 will still be sold in Australia – GM Specialty Vehicles is the new arm appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.



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