The Corvette has been America’s favorite sports car for years now and is the dream of many. It's like the ultimate toy for men and women alike, immaterial of age. Named after a small battleship, the Corvette is just that on the roads – a mutinous and speedy car that refuses to give up when the going gets rough.
With a 66-year legacy and counting, it has gone through quite a bit, and the 2020 Corvette promises to uphold its history in newer and better ways. The tech is better, the design is cooler and there is a lot of innovation in this car. So what is up with the 2020 Corvette? Frankly, a lot – and this means that bookings are rock solid, and nearly all the first production stock has already been sold. So what are you waiting for?
Here are 20 things you may not have known about this cool and awesome car, that may just make the greatest of the greats yet...
20 No More Manual
Sadly for all manual lovers, the all-new 2020 Corvette has gone completely automatic. The eight-speed dual-clutch unit promises better speed and efficiency considering it’s a Tremec unit. Plus low sales of the manual Corvette helped Chevy make the ultimate decision to completely eschew the manual, in favor of the automatic.
19 Is The Fastest Vette Ever
With the optional Z51 package, the Vette now goes it's fastest making a 0-60mph run in 2.9 seconds. And yet, with or without the Z51 package, a quarter-mile is done in 11.2 seconds. Not only is this unbelievably fast, the 2020 Corvette just became the fastest Vette ever. Just one more reason to keep lusting after it.
18 May Give The Camaro A Breather
The mid-engined layout and the only-automatic-transmission doesn’t just make this the coolest Corvette ever, it's just made it a generous big brother too. For all those Camaro fans wondering about the fate of their beloved car, Corvette’s paradigm move means the Camaro can stay safe and secure in its niche and continue its 2000s journey.
17 Lower Trims Are Faster
The base trim is the lightest, and accordingly boasts the highest speeds of 194 mph. The other more expensive and sportier trims may be pricier and with plenty of other features, but have slower top speeds of 184 mph. This makes the base trim the best one for anything with the word drag in it.
16 Is A First In Many Ways
The all-new 2020 Corvette is quite the new car and has many surprises up its alley. Always ahead of its time, and having no competition amongst the Detroit Three; the 2020 Corvette just entered its eighth generation and so it’s the Corvette C8. And that’s just the beginning of all the firsts it brings forth.
15 A Right-Hand Drive Option
For the first time; the Aussies, the Brits, and the Asians will get a factory-produced right-hand-drive Vette. This is a big first in its 66 years of existence. The right-hand-drive Corvette will roll off factories into countries where they drive on the wrong side of the road, so that’s pretty cool for the non-American fans of the Vette.
14 Is A Mid-Engined Layout
Again, for the very first time in 66 years, the Corvette has moved to a mid-engined format. The mid-engined layout seats the power mill on top of the rear wheels – for the rear-wheel driven Corvette, its utter perfection. So when we talk about steering and handling, this may just be the smoothest Vette ever.
13 Comes In Three Trims
The base 1LT trim is the one you get with all the standard bells and whistles and can be had for a little under $60,000. The 2LT trim comes with the optional ZL1 performance package with higher horses and torque, as well as better tires. The 3LT is all that is 2LT, plus some superior shocks.
12 Pricier Also Means Heavier
Remember that the higher you go in trims, the more you end up spending as well. Plus all the extra suspension and those better tires come at a weight cost as well, making the base trim the speediest of them all. The top trim will cost you upwards of $72,000. And we mean way upwards.
11 Top Speeds Are Cool
The base trim has a one-second lag in the 0-60mph run – while the ZL1 package equipped 2020 Corvette can do a 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds, the base trim does this in 3 seconds. Do we care about that 0.1-second lag? Also, if you still want the top trims, 184mph isn’t all that much slower than 194mph – it's just all in the head.
10 It May Go Electric
The 2020 Corvette may just be going the electric way in the next few years – perhaps going the Tesla way. The 6.2-liter V8 in 2020 Vette shoots 490 horses and 465 ft-lb torque. Now imagine all this power in a clean, zero-emission Vette. The Vette’s legacy just added the word environment-friendly to itself as well.
9 When It Happens, It May Be Hybrid
While Chevrolet is ready and willing to admit its due course and interest in electrifying the Corvette’s power, full details aren’t out yet. However, the start may just be a hybrid one, and this is something Chevy has no problems sharing or talking about. We mean, why cover up a good thing?
8 The Insides Are Jet-Inspired
The insides of Corvette are fighter jet-inspired, and one look at the console confirms it. The Vette’s idols are the F-12 and the F-35 jets, and with the driver now perched closer to the steering console, the feel is simply very competitive. The 2020 Corvette is ready and willing to handle all the road action it can get.
7 The Long Nose View Is Gone
Owners of the older generations of the Vette are in for a surprise. With the driver seat closer to the console by some 16.5 inches and the mid-engine layout chopping off a part of the Vette’s nose – the view is pretty radical. The front bumpers frame the road in a bracket-like feel, adding a gaming twist to the already cool Vette.
6 There Is Plenty Cargo Space
With the engine moving to the middle, there is now an additional front cargo space. Add this to the rear compartment space, and you have a Vette that now gives you 356 liters of space, making it the perfect daily driver. Zippy, fast, cool and now the Vette has storage too.
5 Notice The Steering “Wheel”?
If you peek inside the all-new 2020 Corvette, the steering wheel is now more of a steering sq-eel. Meaning, the wheel has now become squarish – reminiscent of an airplane yoke that a car steering wheel. Since everything inside was jet-inspired, that should not come as a surprise to anyone.
4 That Lifting-Suspension
Rough terrain? The all-new 2020 Corvette has an ace up its sleeve. Its nose can lift itself by 1.6 inches in just 28 seconds, at speeds of up to 24mph. Enabled by a hydraulic suspension lift, this just made the Corvette almost impervious to bad roads, potholes, and unnecessarily high-speed bumps.
3 It Is GPS-Enabled
When it does look down its nose upon bad roads, it never forgets the slight. And this may sound dramatic but is, in fact, true because these suspension lifts are linked to a GPS that can store up to 1000 locations. The next time you pass that evil pothole, the Vette would remember, lift and take you across in smooth comfort.
2 Very Tech-Savvy
A Gopro like outside camera lets you record your best (and most hilarious) moments on the road in your Vette. The instrument cluster was poofed away in favor of a 12-inch digital screen that reflects one of the six driving modes so selected. Yep, the 2020 Corvette is tech-savvy indeed.
1 Final Production Has Been Delayed
Now that we’ve built up your, and our expectations, there’s a bit of a bummer to add. Due to the UAW strike, production of the 2020 Vette has been delayed and the release pushed over to February 2020. And do remember that most of these are already pre-booked – as in already sold. So your wait may have got a lot longer.