2020 C8 Corvette to launch in Summer

If the new Corvette looks this good, it will make today's Corvettes look like antiques

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 will easily be one of 2019’s most important car debuts and the huge anticipation for this model also means there’s an abundance of daily reports about it.

Not all are worth mentioning, obviously, but a new one brings fresh information about the mid-engine Corvette’s launch date. While the Detroit Auto Show is out of the question, a debut at the New York Auto Show in April seems unlikely as well.

That’s because a recent report said the Corvette C8 would be delayed six months for issues with its rumored 48-volt electrical system. So when is GM going to launch the mid-engine Vette, then?

Well, GM Authority claims the answer to the question is summer 2019. Citing “sources close to the matter," the publication says the most revolutionary Corvette ever will debut next summer, perhaps May at the earliest. Furthermore, the 2020 Corvette will not have its premiere at a major auto show but during a standalone reveal event.

Assuming the report is accurate, that’s pretty good news for Corvette enthusiasts as it means the C8 will still launch as a 2020 model. In related news, former GM vice chairman Bob Lutz has given his opinion about the mid-engine Corvette’s pricing.

Bob Lutz, wrong again? a mid-engine Corvette for under $70K?

In his “Ask Bob" column on Road and Track’s December 2018/January 2019 issue seen by the MidEngineCorvetteForum, Bob Lutz said that “the goal is to sell the C8, version for version, at a little more than the C7." Three months ago, Lutz said on Autoline that the C8 would cost about $5,000 more than a C7.

That would mean the mid-engine Vette could start at just under $70,000 — a far cry from earlier rumors that indicated a starting MSRP of $169,900. We don’t know how much Bob Lutz knows about the Corvette C8, but odds are he has a lot more information than most journalists and fans.

He also wrote that “Chevrolet is keenly aware of its desired price range" and that the goal, “as always with the Corvette, is to equal or beat exotics costing many times more." Encouragingly, he concluded his segment with the words “it will be the best value on the planet."

Obviously, the high-performance variants of the Corvette C8 will be priced much higher than entry-level models. Lutz estimates the range-topping models will arrive two to three years after the base C8 and will cost “more than $100,000, just like today’s phenomenal ZR1." carscoops