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Chevrolet Corvette confirmed for Australia

Holden has been delivered a massive windfall at a critical time in its sales recovery plan, with confirmation today it will sell the iconic Chevrolet Corvette sports car from as early as next year.


The covers came off the all-new eighth-generation Corvette in the US at 1:45pm Australian time. Chevrolet confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in the automotive industry: the new Corvette will be mid-engined for the first time ever, putting it on a more even footing with exotic supercars from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Audi.

The new Chevrolet Corvette will be powered by a 6.2-litre V8 with claimed outputs of 370kW and 637Nm, matched exclusively to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

At this stage Chevrolet is yet to reveal its plans for rumoured hybrid or twin-turbo-powered versions.

A statement from Holden issued today said: “The news that Corvette will now be built in right-hand drive for the first time ever – and will be exported to Australia – is hugely exciting for our team at Holden and any Australian who loves high performance cars," said Dave Buttner, Holden chairman and managing director.

Holden has also confirmed the Corvette will wear the iconic Chevrolet Corvette logos, and not Holden badging.

“With our long history in motor-racing, performance vehicles are an indelible part of the Holden brand. Our team is totally revved up to build on Holden’s performance legacy with the most technologically advanced Corvette ever built," Buttner said.

“We look forward to taking on the European and Japanese performance vehicles with some highly sophisticated American muscle.”

Exact timing is yet to be determined, however Drive understands the Corvette could be in Australian showrooms in either late 2020 or early 2021.

Price is also yet to be confirmed but Drive understands, having spoken to Holden dealers briefed on the vehicle, that the price will be somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000.

Despite numerous attempts to introduce the Corvette to right-hand-drive markets throughout its 66-year history, this is the first factory-made right-hand drive Corvette to date.

Drive also understands the right-hand-drive Corvette program does not necessarily mean Australia will also get a factory right-hand-drive Camaro, securing HSV's conversion program for the foreseeable future.

As reported last month, the future of this generation Camaro is in doubt beyond 2023.

Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. He joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and has been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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