GMSV to officially emerge this year, Corvette coming 2021

Friday, 7 August 2020

Ever wonder what it would look like if iconic performance cars did like the Corvette and switched up their engine layouts? Wonder no more!

GMSV (General Motors Special Vehicles) will officially debut this year, after the final Holden dealers agree to compensation packages.

CarAdvice reports that there are between 15 and 20 dealers still to negotiate packages. Holden boss Kristian Aquilina told a Senate inquiry earlier this week that more than 90 per cent of the 185 Holden dealers have agreed to compensation packages and that most had signed before the 30 June deadline.

GMSV will replace HSV, possibly using the conversion facility built by Walkinshaw to switch left-hook American vehicles to right-hand drive.

The C8 Corvette is still coming, just a bit later than we thought.

This will allow GMSV to continue selling converted North American vehicles like the Silverado and Camaro while also offering the new C8 Corvette, which will come from the factory in right-hand drive for the first time.

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It will reportedly sell for between $130k and $140k but that’s not set in stone.

* Right-hook Corvette confirmed for next year

* HSV has Sported its last Cat

* GM speaks out against Holden accusations

* Holden dealers set to sue GM

Originally, the new ‘Vette was set to go on sale here and in Australia late this year or early next but Holden’s closure and Covid-19 threw some hefty spanners in the works. The mid-engined sports car is now due to land in late 2021, which is also allowing Chevrolet to homologate the vehicle for European emissions standards.

We’re not sure which versions of the Corvette we’ll get but, according to CarAdvice, indicative Aussie starts at between AU$120,000 and $130,000 (roughly NZ$130k to $140k). Obviously this is subject to change, and probably will change in the lead-up to launch.

In other Corvette news, it appears Chevy is indeed working on an all-electric version. The model’s existence was leaked by none other than Joe Biden, who discussed it on Twitter.

“They tell me, and I’m looking forward, if it’s true, to driving one, that they’re making an electric Corvette that can go 200mph (322kmh),” he said while talking about his C2 Corvette.

GM isn’t confirming nor denying anything regarding an electric Corvette, unsurprisingly, given it hasn’t detailed the long-rumoured hybrid version yet, let alone a full EV.

The hybrid, to be called Zora, is rumoured to be of the plug-in variety and could make as much as 745kW thanks to a twin-turbocharged 4.2-litre V8 paired with a hefty electric motor.

Aside from the hybrid, Chevy is working on a new Z06, destined to be the track-focused member of the family. It has been linked to a new 5.5-litre flat-plane crank dual overhead cam V8 making closer to 400kW. The engine was first seen in action in the C8.R racer at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona back in January.

Finally, the next ZR1 will take the same engine as the Zora but forgo the additional electronics for a supposed output of 597kW and 949Nm.