Corvette

Chinese manufacturer Songsan Motors has launched a suspiciously recognisable new model, called the SS Dolphin. Unveiled earlier this week at the Beijing Motor Show, the designers of the hard-top convertible have apparently been inspired by the 1958 Chevrolet Corvette C1. The Chinese copycat car is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid combination and, according to the brand’s website, can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds.

The Chevrolet Corvette is in danger of not making it to Australia after General Motors in Detroit stopped engineering development of all vehicles during the COVID-19 lockdowns. A report out of the US – based on a leaked copy of a secret internal General Motors document – claims 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”.

The first 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 has sold at auction for US$3 million (AUD$4.34 million). That's a massive $2.92 million more than the North American RRP of USD$74,995 (AUD$109,000) for the C8 bearing VIN 001. Australian pricing for the new Corvette is yet to be announced, but last month Holden teased us with a photo of a car being tested at its engineering facility in Lang Lang south-east of Melbourne, ahead of its scheduled showroom arrival next year.

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 2020 Stingray is set to be powered by an updated version of the current model's 6.2-litre LT1 V8, boosted to around 500hp (373kW).

The next-generation 'C8' Chevrolet Corvette has been spied at the Nurburgring, wearing less camouflage to show off its new mid-engined shape. Up front, the headlights and ankle-breaking splitter share their basic DNA with those of the current Corvette ZR1, although the snub-nosed profile and air intakes on the rear flanks are dead giveaways as to where the engine is hiding.