Corvette order books open for Kiwi buyers

Wednesday, 9 June 2021

General Motors has revealed the all-new mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette - and it is coming here!

Kiwi buyers can finally begin the process of ordering the first ever mid-engined Corvette to officially sell in New Zealand.

“The long wait is over, the books are open and our Dealers are ready to place orders,” said the Director of GMSV, Joanne Stogiannis.

“Excitement and anticipation have been building since the reveal of the C8 right-hand drive programme almost two years ago, even more so when we released recommended retail pricing for 2LT and 3LT models in late March.

The Corvette made its first appearance Down Under recently at Tailem Bend.

“The build-up to this point will be sure to reach a real crescendo with release of the pricing and specification of the Carbon Edition.”

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Kiwi buyers will be able to have the Corvette in Coupe or Convertible guises, but the Coupe is the only one to get the Carbon Edition.

* Corvette to make first Australasian appearance at Tailem Bend Supercars

* GMSV confirms Kiwi pricing for right-hand drive Corvette

Pricing for the Convertible variants adds $15k.

* General Motors Specialty Vehicles launches with Silverado

* Holden to bring mid-engined Corvette to New Zealand

The Carbon Edition is exclusive to Australia and New Zealand and celebrates the long- awaited arrival of Corvette in this part of the world. Only one of the limited production vehicles will be allocated to each GMSV Dealer.

Each Carbon Edition Corvette is based on the 3LT Coupe specification. It gets a carbon fibre interior package with carbon fibre inserts on the dash and door panels, ‘Trident’ wheels in grey, colour coded brake calipers, a carbon roof, an engine appearance lighting package with CF closeout panels, a special build plate and a welcome package for each buyer.

The carbon fibre elements along with the Trident wheel package are limited to the Carbon Edition as part of the MY22 production run.

Those extras add on to the standard ‘Vette’s package of a colour head-up display, 14-speaker Bose audio system, the Z51 performance pack and frontal lift.

The Z51 package includes a dual-mode exhaust, performance suspension with ‘Magnetic Selective Ride Control’ (magnetic active dampers that react and adjust within milliseconds), larger Brembo brakes, electronic-limited slip differential, a front splitter, rear fascia-mounted spoiler, extra cooling provisions and specific rear axle ratio.

Power is sourced from a 6.2-litre V8, which sends 370kW of power and 635Nm of torque through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. GM reckons it will hit 60mph (96kmh) in 'less than 3 seconds', so around three for the zero to 100kmh sprint then.

As for price, the 2LT Coupe will start at $154,990, while the 3LT will kick off at $169,990. Convertible versions of each trim will add $15k.

The Carbon Edition is the most expensive of the lot, coming in at $197,990.