You knew this Ace of Base would happen eventually. Ever since the dawn of time (or the moment Don Sherman started working at Car and Driver, whichever came first), speculation had been rife of an impending mid-engined Corvette. The shoe finally dropped last month, with the debut of Chevy’s eighth-gen Vette.
One huge detail? Its starting price of $59,995. For less than sixty grand, one will soon be able to plug themselves into the driver’s seat of America’s hot rod. What’s included (and not included?) in the base 1LT?
Standard equipment on the 1LT of course includes the 6.2-liter LT2 V8 engine, lashed to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Note that the standard suspension is fitted to the base 1LT, with GM’s natty Magnetic Selective Ride Control costing an extra $1,895. The performance exhaust system is also a $1,195 option.
The main feature that will hoover extra Simoleons from your bank account? That would be the $5,000 Z51 Performance Package. This group fits the 1LT Corvette with the aforementioned performance exhaust, a performance suspension with manually adjustable threaded spring seats, and an electronic limited slip diff. Also onboard a Z51 are spoilers and splitters, larger-than-standard brake discs, Pilot Sport 4S summer rubber, and an ambiguous “enhanced cooling” ability.
Despite this, a no-options 1LT is hardly a stripper. All versions get a removable body color roof panel, 8-way power GT1 leather seats, Pilot Sport runflats, and all manner of interior comforts like dual climate control and a Bose 10-speaker sound system. That fabulous 12-inch configurable cluster display is included on all cars as well.
If you’re springing for a C8, this author heartily recommends the Z51 pack, as it imbues the car with the much talked about 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque and retina-detaching acceleration. However, the base car is a remarkable achievement for less than $60,000 so its nameplate definitely earns a spot in the Ace of Base trophy case. But — if rumors are true — next year’s car will be the recipient of a price hike, so it is likely that only the 2020 model will boast a sub-$60k pricetag.
Best to get in on the ground floor, folks.
[Images: GM]
Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments and feel free to eviscerate our selections.
The model above is shown with American options and priced in American Dollars. Your dealer may sell for less.
The car is undoubtedly a good value but it’s a bad ace of base simply because the Z51 package exists…
I beg to disagree, for a daily driver, anything other then the base model is not going to be comfortable. And yes, I know the fan boys whose testosterone has not kicked in love the bone jarring ride with straight pipes bellowing behind. Not a daily driver for the sane. And few can afford a track day only car.
Well don’t forget, without the Z51 package you get a higher top speed. 194 Mph.
Not bad at all.
Well don’t forget, without the Z51 package you get a higher top speed. 194 Mph.
Not bad at all.
I love the disclaimer at the end: “The model above is shown with American options and priced in American Dollars. Your dealer may sell for less.”
Magic 8 Ball Says: “My Reply is No”
I know they’ll never build any $59,995 Corvettes, but even with the performance options you’re still coming in at less then $70K or the price of a nicely equipped Tahoe. That’s still an unbelievable value
Oh c’mon now, a mid-level Tahoe is $55k and has everything you need. (Not that I’d recommend one, I wouldn’t.)
AOB winner? You bet!
You would be a fool though to buy one without the Z51 upgrade unless your plan is to hope that you are the **only** one or of the few who bought an actual $59,995 stripper C8 in hopes that it rolls across the Barrett Jackson block in future for big(er) money like some of the 60’s big block vette’s do now that have radio and AC delete.
Even with the couple of options you want; LT2 for the lift kit, Z51, & exhaust you are still driving a bargain super car.
I’ll have to wait for the manual option, or conversion kit. But can we stop proclaiming “Sub $60K”? Or Less than sixty grand?
It sounds like GM marketing banter. The difference isn’t even a Happy Meal. And much respect to Mcdonalds for their Dollar Drink special. 99 cents would’ve been a bigger price gap.
“But can we stop proclaiming “Sub $60K”? Or Less than sixty grand?”
Thank you! Yes, this car is technically priced under $60k. No, none will ever sell for that, even if you walk into the dealership and write a check in full. “Under $60k” is solely marketing. Sure, it’s still a deal given the competition. But you won’t be able to buy it for that.
Wow, $1,195 for a set of headers?
Have you priced headers lately? For a set of stainless headers your talking about that or more. 1200 bucks isn’t too bad, especially considering the Corvette tax that will be applied to the aftermarket items.
While I got a screaming deal on the Borla cat back saving a fair bit of change. If say I didn’t get that deal and paid the going rate from exhaust flanges to exhaust tips it would cost about 4k.
+1 on this. The factory exhaust package will most likely cost half of what Borla, Corsa, Kooks, FlowMaster and the rest will want. Corvette Tax is real and it will wielded with abandon on the C8 me thinks.
$1,195 gets you the NPP dual-mode exhaust that opens flaps that essentially bypass the mufflers. From what’s been gathered so far, there’s no difference to the headers/manifold (i.e. all Vettes get the exact same headers/manifold).
Sadly, I’ve been unable to find a Chevrolet dealer who has any information and is willing to help order the car. My wife said “this is a great example of the disconnect between Marketing and Production”. They’ve successfully created the hype, but can’t even take orders for the car. Next stop: Porsche dealer for a 911.
I suspect you’re in a pretty sparse crowd of people who will let a slow rollout push you to the competition. Sure, someone looking to get a car now will have to look around, but the C8 is a new commodity in a long line of heritage. If the C8 was out for a couple years already, you might find more people willing to look around. But most people buying the C8 right now have been waiting for it or are suddenly interested in it after seeing the release. I don’t think an extra month or 2 is turning a ton of people away here.
Agree that it may be a sparse group, but I don’t think it’s a matter of a few months. It sounds like you might get pushed out of the first year’s production, so now it’s a 15-18 months issue. Thus, get a 911 now and add the C8 at some point in the future. Just frustrating because they could sell well if they had the machinery (order taking) ready to go.
I saw a post on the Denver south corvette club on FB from Emich Chevrolet in Denver that they had unspoken for allotment. This was last week, but might be worth a call.
I suspect that the base model Corvette will be as rare as the $35,000 Tesla. Anybody needing good material for a laugh-track could finish up in a day by calling Chevy Dealers and asking if they have a base model 8th generation in stock
This is common, I think. You don’t see F150/Silverado/Ram stripped out work trucks on dealer lots, you didn’t see the sub-30k Mercedes-benz CLA’s or the 31k BMW 320i’s on the lots either.
But at least you can order them for MSRP if you really, really wanted to. the 35k Tesla literally never existed (if you tried to order one you will be placed in a holding pattern for weeks then they will upsell you the 37-40k version)
The difference with the “work truck” analogy is that you could find the highest volume fleet dealer in your state and find a work truck to buy.
As an example I’m sure Chalmers Ford here in NM would happily sell you an XL F150.
there are definitely stripped trucks avail on lots in my area. SF Bay Area. Every dealer I checked online has a few.
You absolutely do not need to order special to get a work truck.
You made me look. Counting both RWD and 4×4 models, my local Chevy dealer has 19 stripper Silverado WT’s on the lot. And for $10k off MSRP. You want a new stripper full size truck? $24k, come on down!
We’re full-on Corvette this morning! I’m very pleased they all have a targa roof; didn’t know that.
The best part about the 59,995 AoB is that this is an introductory offer and the car will be going up in price when the 2021 models roll out and I suspect for a little bit there after.
I wonder if anybody will score a base vette at base prices (I’ve been told some dealers will honor MSRP) or the introductory price will be lost with the ADMs.
No MRC, no sale. I can’t imagine buying a car with it available and not specifying it.
The Z51 package… eh. Better resale is the most compelling argument for it. I’m not driving on track and I don’t really need a harsher ride or tires that become unusable when it’s below 50 degrees out.
As the owner of a 2014 C7 Z51 3LT M7 – I agree.
Do NOT buy a Corvette without the mag-ride and performance exhaust. The rest of the Z51 goodies are not needed unless you are tracking the car.
For my Z51 I actually downsized the 19/20 tires to 18/19 to improve the ride and make replacement tires more affordable as track driving tends to eat up tires (and brakes) quickly.
@dal: in terms of resale, options generally retain less of their value (as a percentage) than the basic car. So yeah, a Z51 Vette might get a bit more at trade-in, but far, far less than what you paid for that option in the first place. IOW, strictly from a financial point of view, the best advice is to get no options at all.
Disgusting automatic trash.
This car is a unicorn, the tooth fairy, and Santy Clawz all wrapped into one.
It is a myth that you’ll be able to buy a sub $60k vehicle.
a. Dealers won’t sell one because they’ll market adjust it to $69,995 or more.
b. GM will do a Tesla and simply not build these until they’ve exploited the higher priced units and then will only build a few at that – which will then be subject to dealer price gouging.
c. You’ll never see a sub $60k model in the first year as inventory; those will be special ordered using the Tesla model. Good luck even getting to see one.
d. All of the above.
Agree overall… and most Corvettes are ordered, very few buy “off the lot”. Anyone ordering one will be checking multiple options boxes – so yeah very few zero option C8s will roll out of Bowling Green.
You can buy at MSRP from a multitude of Forum Dealers on CorvetteForum.com, and have the car drop shipped to a local dealer for an additional $300 to $500.
I live in Ann Arbor, MI and we see a lot of autos in camouflage undergoing testing. I’ve seen the C8 a few times with the black and white camo wrap the last month or so cruising I94 and some some side roads. I think the style is an improvement on the C7 and C6, but of the models in the last 20 years I think the C5 is still the most well done aesthetically. This will draw a lot of attention, though, and definitely stands out in traffic (even with the camouflage I saw there were cars speeding up to check it out, including me!) If this does half as well as advertised, Chevy will have hit a big homerun.
Non Z51 0-60 time of 3.0! So it is .1 seconds slower! LOL!