CHEVROLET UNVEILS CORVETTE STINGRAY CONVERTIBLE

Iconic US muscle car gets a folding hardtop version in the C8 generation

Didn’t it have an open-top when it was revealed earlier?

In July this year, Chevrolet took the wraps off the eight-generation Corvette Stingray with the big news being the repositioning of the engine from the front to midship. (Check out the review above.)

Although this latest Corvette took the shape of a classic coupe, the roof panel was removable and could be stowed in the back of the car. Hence, some called it “Targa”.

Just recently, though, the new Corvette has been unveiled in Convertible guise, sporting a folding hardtop that can open or close in 13 seconds, while travelling under 50kph.

From a distance, the two Corvettes look very similar. But the Convertible has two buttresses behind the seats and a solid engine cover.

You can’t see the engine. Is that V8 the same?

The engine in the two Corvettes is the same, that is, a 495hp 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 mated to eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Since the Convertible has a heavier body, Chevrolet said that engineers tweaked the chassis with springs and damper tuned specifically to provide “nearly the same performance as the coupe”.

No weight figure or acceleration time has yet been disclosed for the Convertible. The coupe weighs 1,530kg and goes from 0-100kph in 3 seconds, according to Chevrolet.

Even so, the Convertible should still be respectably quick. More crucial is the Corvette’s positioning in the sports car market, its pitch being that it offers lots of performance at an affordable price — from $60,000 (1.8 million baht) in the US and three times that on Thai shores.

Like the coupe, Chevrolet has confirmed right-hand drive for the Convertible but only for selected markets when production begins by mid-2020.