Corvette

The first 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 has landed in Australia, according to a post on Holden’s official Instagram page (pictured below). The new generation Corvette was photographed inside Holden’s engineering centre in Melbourne with test equipment and a Holden Acadia SUV in the background. It is the first sign of the iconic US sports car on Australian soil since Holden confirmed in July 2019 that it was headed Down Under.

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.

Alex Misoyannis • Chevrolet has confirmed the eighth-generation C8 Corvette, set for a Friday reveal, will launch in ‘Stingray’ guise. The moniker was first used on the second-generation Corvette in 1963, before being dropped at the end of 1976. It made a return in 2014 to denote the entry-level variant of the C7 Corvette – the same role it'll fill within the new C8 range.

The new mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette has been spied undergoing testing on a proving track. These slightly grainy photos were taken from afar, but seem to show a prototype vehicle using production body panels obscured by both camouflage wrap and a clip-on covering. The photos give further credence to the long-standing rumour the next-generation sports car will switch from the front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout used by the Corvette thus far to a new mid-engine layout.

With the end of local Commodore production a little over a year away, there has been a good deal of uncertainty about which model in GM's global stable will debut as the hero performer in the Holden line-up. Hopes appeared to dim earlier this year, when new GM global design chief and former Australian styling boss, Mike Simcoe, told CarAdvice he would steer well clear of discussing the topic.