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Chevrolet Corvette right-hand-drive is go!

Development of a right-hand-drive Chevrolet Corvette is about to be resumed post COVID-19 lockdowns. Australian timing and price are still yet to be confirmed.


The Chevrolet Corvette is still on track for right-hand-drive, even though development of it and other variants was paused during the coronavirus crisis.

A media alert issued by General Motors in Europe overnight has confirmed the new Chevrolet Corvette will still be available in right-hand-drive.

It will be the first time in the history of the nameplate that the Corvette has been built in right-hand-drive on the main production line.

Hopefully, the only question that remains for Australian fans is when it will arrive in local showrooms and how much it will cost.

CarAdvice understands it will be priced between $120,000 and $140,000 plus on-road costs, depending on currency fluctuations.

As reported previously, the plan is to sell the factory-built right-hand-drive Corvette alongside locally-converted right-hand-drive Chevrolet Silverado pick-ups under a new General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) network.

While negotiations continue with Detroit and Holden Special Vehicles about the future of its Australian operations once Holden closes – and the brand is retired at the end of this year – CarAdvice understands no decision has been made and no agreements have been signed.

While the media bulletin from General Motors in Europe does not go into detail about the right-hand-drive Corvette, the halo sportscar is expected to be offered in the UK and Japan, as well as Australia.

Last month, CarAdvice reported the right-hand-drive Corvette was at risk of being cancelled or postponed – and in danger of not making it to Australia – because development of that and other variants had been paused during the coronavirus crisis.

At the time, a report out of the US – based on a leaked copy of a secret internal General Motors document – claimed GM’s executive director in charge of program management, Michelle Braun, “recently issued a blanket order pausing all future car and truck development, including for the Corvette”.

While the stoppages were only temporary, those with knowledge of the program told CarAdvice there was “little to no chance” the Chevrolet Corvette will make it to Australia in the first half of 2021 as originally planned – and might not happen at all if pushed down the priority queue.

However, CarAdvice has since been told that General Motors never wavered from its commitment to bring the Corvette in right-hand-drive to Australia, but its timing will depend on how quickly the proposed GMSV network is established.

CarAdvice has been told Detroit wants to finalise compensation packages with the Holden dealer network before moving onto plans for GMSV.

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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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