It’s the end of an era.
While most are eagerly awaiting the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 to hit dealers, GM is still producing the old C7. Or at least it was producing the C7, until now. Chevy sent out this tweet yesterday marking the end of the C7’s production run, and the end of a 66-year-long run of front-engined Corvettes. If you’re thinking, “Wow, I’d like the own the very last front-engined Corvette,” you’re already too late. This one was spoken for long before it rolled off the production line, as it set a $2.7 million record at Barrett-Jackson in June. The proceeds from that sale went to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which builds mortgage-free smart homes for injured veterans.
The C7 Corvette was another revolution for the Corvette in its own right. It revived the Stingray name, and it also brought us a seven-speed manual transmission (that’s sadly gone in the C8). We saw this generation push the model to new heights with the Z06 and, later on, the Corvette ZR1.
As the C7’s production comes to a close, we have a new era of Corvette to look forward to in the C8. We covered the model extensively from its debut back in July, and the first model to hit the streets will be the 2020 Corvette Stingray. This is the first mid-engined Corvette, but still packs a good-old 6.2-liter V8 engine. In this application, the updated LT2 engine puts out 495 horsepower (with the optional Z51 performance package) and 470 lb-ft of torque. The manual transmission has been ditched for an eight-speed dual-clutch unit, making the Corvette capable of 0-60 in around 3 seconds.C
We should see the first Corvette C8 models hit the streets in early 2020. Until then, a moment of silence for the Chevy Corvette C7. It’s certainly earned its place in history.
Check out more on the latest Corvette below:
