C8 Corvette Heads to Australia Straight Out of Bowling Green
Heading to the Land Down Under in Q4 2021, base C8 Corvette pre-converted to right-hand drive in the U.S. priced at around $116K.
The C8 Corvette’s not just a shock to the system for fans in the United States. The first production rear mid-engine ‘Vette’s aimed at the top dogs around the world, like Porsche and Ferrari. Thus, it must be able to meet the competition upon their home turf, and beyond. This is now happening in Japan, with Europe and other parts of Asia to follow.
Then, there’s the other home of the V8, Australia. Reeling from the loss of both the Ford Falcon and all of Holden, Aussies, Kiwis and Tasmanians are all looking for a light in the dark. MidEngineCorvetteForum.com recently posted a scan of Australia’s Wheels‘ February 2021 issue, featuring the C8 Corvette’s arrival to the Land Down Under, with hopes of more to come.
“Chevy’s V8 all-paw Ferrari fryer gets set to rip… but will it make it to Oz?” That’s what Wheels hopes will happen. In the meantime, the base C8 Corvette arrives in Aussie showrooms during Q4 of 2021 via GM Special Vehicles, Holden’s successor. It’ll come straight out of Bowling Green with the steering wheel on the right side of the ‘Vette, too; no converting upon arrival necessary. It helps that the ‘Vette’s already in Japan and will be in the United Kingdom soon, both markets also being RHD.
However, Aussies will be paying quite a bit to take the base C8 Corvette home. Starting MSRP is $150,000 Australian, which is around $116,000 here in the U.S. Quite a far cry from the $59,900 MSRP for the 1LT C8 us Yanks pay. That alone may be a sign that higher-tier models may not be a given.
Two of the most desired models Australia hopes to receive via GMSV are the ZR1 and Zora. The former is expected to have a 5.5-liter twin-turbo LT7 V8, good for nearly 700 horses and 850 lb-ft of torque. That’s quite a monster in its own right. However, the Zora straight-up blows up the barbie with an additional electric motor up front. The combined power comes to 1,000 thunderhorses with 1,000 lb-ft of kangaroo-kicking torque.
As Wheels notes, the 1K double-tap Zora would absolutely slaughter the Porsche 911 Turbo S and Ferrari SF90 Stradale, all for an estimated $170,000 in the U.S. Bringing it to Australia would be a challenge, though. Developing a RHD C8 Corvette alone “would have cost tens of millions of dollars for just a relative handful of cars,” per one source, adding, “Someone over there must really like Australia.” Let’s hope our friends Down Under don’t miss out on the best yet to come.
Scans: MidEngineCorvetteForum.com
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