C8 Pricing?

[jklein]

Has anyone heard anything about pricing?

[John]

Welcome jklein! I will bet your thread gets many posts and many opinions. GM of course does not yet acknowledge the Corvette ME will be for sale next year, let alone ever. As you asked, based on “informed speculation” (for what that is worth), my personal opinion —any many have different ones, if that we will hear Tadge or Harlan say at the reveal (whenever that is), something like , “if you could afford a moderately equipped 2019 Grand Sport, you can afford an entry ME.”

Translating that in current pricing for those who have not spec’d one lately, if you were to buy (and we are at talking MSRP), a Grand Sport, 2LT, automatic trans, coupe, with a few options, you would be around $75,000. Again, that is just my opinion. Please take it with a grain of salt and some, as I earlier noted, some informed speculation mixed in.

Many have said entry price will be “around $60K, have seen a media estimate of $65K, others are believing it will be in the “low $80,000’s and yet many others who are thinking it is starting at $100K.

Lastly, if one is thinking of a ZORA version with supposedly 1,000 HP/AWD that is rumored down the road, my personal SWAG is that it will be the ballpark of $185K (MSRP) — appearing around 2022 or even 2023.

Please file this post as no more than “one person’s best guess.” We have budgeted $1100K for our 2020. It will be loaded, including in our budget, immediately after driving it away from [email protected], getting it clear bra’d, windows tinted, CQuartz Finest, and having more stuff I like to add to customize ours. .

[VRacing1]

I am completely torn with what to do now and should I proceed with a purchase this year or wait for ME? I was planning to purchase a new Z06 this year in Admiral Blue, but decided to wait after John posted on the new colors and seeing the Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic . Now I have engine delima!

[John]

I was also torn, for the ZR1 is beyond an amazing car. I envy all who have or getting one. The question my smart wife asked when I was talking about getting a ZR1 or waiting for the ME (as we are retired and can only afford Corvette at a time), is “you have been waiting for a mid engined Corvette for decades, and what if you buy a ZR1 now, and the day of the reveal when you see it, you are sick you did not wait?”

Say the reveal is January at NAIAS, and say you do not like the ME, you will still be able to order your 2019 Z06. But if you were to buy now, you could be sick at heart after seeing the revealed ME. I too am going through the “engine dilemma,” for we have a C7 Z06 now. But there are always great aftermarket choices such as Lingenfelter, Callaway and more. I personally believe, based of course on nothing, that Ken and Reeves have already been brought into the loop for the ME’s modified LT1 motor.

[tooold2race]

Well here we go..... This is PURELY MY OPINION...… No 'facts' here at all. I think that at the 'reveal' (where they will only hint about the pricing to come nearly a year down the line) someone in authority will say something like, "It will be priced close to the current high performance version of the C7 Corvette."

With that said..... what's a 'current high performance Corvette??? Some will take that to mean a Z51, others will say it is something near Z06 pricing, while others will think it means ZR1 pricing. That will just stoke the flames of curiosity and keep the forums buzzing until something more definite comes out around a year from now or so..

My guess from owning and following Corvettes and GM marketing for nearly 50 years is that one will be really hard pressed to drive one out of the showroom for under $100K.... particularly if it's optioned up to any extent. Those not willing to move into the 6 figure range will still have plenty of FE Corvette models to choose from with lots of performance on tap.

[freeman1215]

My two cents. I will be surprised to see the new mid-engine Corvette priced much higher than the still available C7. The C8 will be a complete departure from anything Chevrolet has ever done before. Given that, and the fact that one does not typically want to purchase the first two years of a new generation, if Chevrolet prices the mid-engine to aggressively people could still just buy a wonderful C7 , with higher performance, at a cheaper cost. Still guessing!

[meyerweb]

There is ample evidence that GM plans to continue C7 sales for a couple of years after the ME car is for sale. But if the ME car is priced similarly to the C7, the C7 is dead. Few will pay nearly the same for a then 8 year old design as for a brand new, exciting, higher performance version. And not buying the first 2 years of a new model really isn't a thing. The first few years of the C7 were the best selling years. Where do you get the idea the C7 will have higher performance? The ME is rumored to have more HP, and will certainly have better handling and braking.

There will be a small group of buyers who think that Corvettes should be, always and only, front-engined, but that group will get smaller and smaller as current owners continue to age. The younger buyers GM hopes to attract with the ME will have no memories of classic, front-engined Corvettes, but will be very familiar with mid-engined Porsches, Ferraris, Audis, Lambos, etc.

And the ME will be more expensive to make, initially, if for now other reason than the C7 tooling is all amortized. I'd bet on the cheapest ME being about $10K more than the base C7. That keeps enough of a differential to get price conscious buyers shopping C7s.

[John]

There will always be inherent C7 advantages including more trunk space, a manual trans being available, a true “soft trip” convertible, and more. I do not know whether there will be a front-engined C8 down the road, but I personally hope that for 2020 & 2021 that C7’s, or at least some versions of it, remain for sale as you noted.

And you are so correct that the ME will be bringing in brand new-to-Corvette members, and that that is critical for their to be a Corvette down the road many more decades. The old expression, living in the best of two different worlds, is applicable to the next couple of years — at least.

[Brian Kissel]

Well, I have been holding off on buying a new ZR1. I'm holding off for the rumored 1000 hp Zora. I have set aside $225,000.00 for it. I do not think it will be over $200,000.00 but I want to get a no hassle sale with cash. As CD rates are going up, I have just put it aside for when it arrives. I'm hoping they still offer a orange version with lots of carbon.

[John]

Wow, we are excited for you and your future ZORA version. Thanks for joining MECF!