It’s taken a while but some US carmakers are finally coming around to the idea that selling performance cars to Americana-loving Brits might not be a bad idea. Of course, being American, they've picked the perfect time - just as increasingly stringent EU legislation makes it difficult to bring them across the pond. Ford made the surprise move to launch a right-hand-drive version of the Mustang back in 2015. Then, a few years later, Chevrolet downright shocked everyone by announcing that the C8 Corvette would also be available with its steering wheel on the correct side. At last.
Like the Mustang, a Chevrolet Corvette to call our own has long been on the enthusiast wishlist. Granted, at one time or another we’ve all poked fun at their supposed inability to navigate a corner at speed, but that certainly did not do justice to the C8, which was developed with the intention of giving its European rivals a black eye. Obviously it earned a V8 but it was also extensively tested at Nurburgring and set some blistering lap times along the way. Chevrolet even ditched the ancient leaf-spring arrangement at the rear for proper springs and dampers, which is exactly what it needed to do to win over British buyers.
There’s just one teeny tiny problem: Chevrolet doesn’t officially sell cars in the UK, and hasn’t for almost a decade. The only way to get your hands on a factory-prepped, right-hand drive C8 is to go through an importer and even then you’re likely in for a long wait, with some customers apparently told it might take two or three years to arrive. For all we know, the first batch of right-hand cars must have only just arrived given the current used market is almost entirely left-hookers (correct me if I’m wrong below), but thankfully there’s one RHD car in a very lovely spec that’s ready and raring to go.
Finished in white over a part red, part black leather interior, this C8 Stingray Convertible is crammed full of kit with both the Z51 performance pack and 3LT upgrades equipped. The former sees a slight increase in power, up from 497hp to 502hp, which is paired with the optional sports exhaust on this car for even more rumble from that naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8. A firmer suspension setup was also included, as were more powerful Brembo brakes. Meanwhile, the 3LT pack gets you posher sports seats with Napa leather and carbon accents, as well as all the options from the 1LT and 2LT packs, such as a performance data recorder and a 14-speaker Bose sound system.
Ticks a lot of boxes, doesn’t it? And if you’ve somehow missed all the commotion around the C8, it’s received a good deal of praise on both sides of the Atlantic. Mike Duff noted how the mid-engined C8 was far less “edgy” than the front-engined C7, possibly owing to the overhauled suspension setup. “In slower, tighter corners the rear end does play to the throttle, but in quicker stuff it feels absolutely planted”, he added - although he also conceded that it ideally needs “heroic sweeping corners or a racetrack” to get the most out of the chassis. Fortunately, we’re short of neither here in Britain.
We are, however, evidently short of right-hand-drive Corvettes, so you’ll be saving a huge amount of time by making straight for this example, which is priced at £97,995. Obviously, importing doesn’t come cheap and it’s not far off fully loaded, but admittedly it’s quite a lot more than what you’d pay in America. And sure, you could easily list off numerous alternatives for that sort of money (the McLaren 720S is creeping ever closer to £100k, after all), but you don’t buy a Corvette because it’s the sensible choice; you buy it because it’s a Corvette. The fact that this one comes without the usual usability sacrifice ought to seal the deal for someone...
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