More supplies of mid-engined American supercar tempered by huge price rises and massive blow-out in delivery wait times
It’s not just petrol, electricity and grocery costs that are going up, with the increasing prices of a wide range of new vehicles being well documented by this website in recent times, but now it seems even supercars aren’t exempt with news that it will now cost you $15,000 more to buy a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – if you’re prepared to wait years for delivery.
Yesterday official Chevrolet importer General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) announced it had secured a second allocation of Corvette supercars for Australia, but wouldn’t confirm or deny any price increases.
Today, however, GMSV has confirmed to carsales that the second shipment of Corvette vehicles will indeed increase in prise – by $15,000 across the broad.
First shipments of right-hand drive MY23 vehicles, which will bring more personalisation choices but no spec changes, from the US will commence in the final quarter of this year.
But some GMSV dealers are now advising that demand is so strong they’re now sitting on six years worth of orders. Previously, a number of dealers told us their Corvette allocations are spoken for until 2025.
MY23 Corvette prices now start at $159,990 plus on-road costs – up from $144,990 for the entry-level 2LT Coupe – and specs for the five-variant coupe and convertible line-up remains unchanged.
However, as we reported in May 2021, some GMSV dealers are cashing in on Aussie demand for the eighth-generation Corvette by charging exorbitant ‘delivery fees’, which in at least one case helped bring the drive-away price of the base 2LT Coupe to $187,990.
Even before the MY23 price hike, that was a cool $43,000 more than GMSV’s list price (including GST and LCT) and significantly more than the circa-$13,000 that buyers of a comparable model like the Porsche 718 Cayman would pay for on-road costs including a dealer deliver fee and statutory charges like CTP and registration.
Likewise, the dealer delivery document provided to carsales listed the Corvette 2LT Convertible at $203,990 drive-away, the 3LT Coupe at $204,990 drive-away and the 3LT Convertible at $220,490 – significantly more than GMSV’s original list prices before the latest increase.
And if you’re not already on the waiting list for the C8 Corvette, you will be waiting a very long time for your 369kW V8 coupe or convertible,
The first tranche of around 256 vehicles – four per dealer across 57 sites in Australia and seven in New Zealand – was sold out long before the first customer cars touched down early this year, and so far GMSV has handed over just 93 C8 Corvettes – an average of less than two per dealer.
Just 128 vehicles will be in the second batch of GMSV Corvettes – 114 for Australia and 14 for New Zealand – meaning the new allocation of MY23 Corvettes is exactly half the size of the first and amounts to just two per dealer.
GMSV says smaller shipments will arrive more frequently going forward, but it remains to be seen how long it will take for the brand to reduce wait times and clear up the excessive backlog of orders.
Strong global demand and several production stoppages at the Chevy Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, have hampered supply of the sought-after 6.2-litre V8-powered sports car, but alongside the MY23 announcement GMSV director Joanne Stogiannis said there will be “…greater visibility on production timing along with the opportunity for customers to personalise elements of their vehicle”.
Although there are no wholesale changes to the rear-drive supercar for the 2023 model year, GMSV says the second allocation of C8 Corvettes will be offered with higher levels of customisation, including three new wheel options and two new interior colour options: Blackout and a “full dipped” Adrenaline Red.
Along with the trio of new wheel options, things like black exhaust outlets and the new interior colours are now available in addition to 12 exterior colour choices, four regular interior colours, six seatbelt colours, four brake calliper colours, various decals, three different seat types and, for the coupe, solid or transparent roof panels.
All Aussie-delivered Corvettes are fitted with the Z51 performance package as standard, which adds things like a front lift system, performance exhaust, adaptive dampers, electronic limited-slip differential and staggered 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, plus a front splitter and rear spoiler.
“Providing customers an improved level of personalisation was a key focus for us with this allocation as well as news that we are providing smaller, more frequent, dealer allocations at this time,” said Stogiannis.
“It is a very dramatic car, full of character and personality, and now with the possibility of making changes to certain features we are providing new owners with the opportunity to make their Corvette their own, to a greater extent than has been possible before,” said the GMSV boss.
There’s still no word on an Australian ETA for the wild new C8 Corvette Z06, which the local importer previously said would be available here by the end of 2022, let alone the all-wheel drive plug-in hybrid and all-electric ‘E-Ray’ versions that are expected to follow in 2023.
How much does the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette cost?Coupe 2LT – $159,990 (+$15,000)Coupe 3LT –$175,500 (+$15,000)Convertible 2LT – $174,990 (+$15,000)Convertible 3LT – $189,900 (+$15,000)
* Prices exclude on-road costs
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Keyword: 2023 Chevrolet Corvette prices spike