Chevy 2020 Corvette Stingray C8: A New Twist On Convertibles

Chevy’s 2020 Corvette Stingray C8 with a mid-mount engine is now being offered as a hardtop convertible – the first in the automaker’s history.

“We put the world on notice when we introduced the first mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette a few months ago, and now we’re raising the bar with the first-ever hardtop Corvette convertible,” Brian Sweeney, U.S. vice president at Chevy said. “And the convertible will be priced only $7,500 more than entry 1LT Stingray coupe.”

The C8 embraces a hardtop convertible design that takes the parts and” tunnel-dominant structure” of the traditional Stingray coupe, the company said. The hardtop stows into the body of the sportscar while still allowing for storage in the trunk compartment.

Unlike its previous softtop designs, Chevy has made for a cleaner look with the convertible hardtop on the C8, as well as reducing sound in the cabin. The car’s top can be operated at speeds up to 30 mph and can retract in 16 seconds. It is controlled by six electric motors, compared to hydraulic motors used in its predecessors, as well as an encoder for more precise control, Chevy said.

The look of the hardtop was inspired by fighter jets as it features aerodynamically-shaped nacelles that were influenced by the housing of the jet engines on the aircraft, according to the company. The “fighter jet” design also helps to reduce air circulation in the cabin while giving the C8 a sleek profile.

According to Chevy, there is no performance degradation with the convertible hardtop on the C8 as it still powered by a 6.2-liter V8 LT2 engine that is naturally aspirated and rated 495 horsepower with 470 pounds-per-feet of torque when equipped with the performance exhaust system. An eight-speed dual-clutch transmission rounds out the drivetrain.

“Our goal from the beginning was to make sure customers didn’t have to sacrifice any functionality, performance or comfort when choosing the hardtop convertible,” Josh Holder, Corvette program engineering manager said. “We managed to keep the same design theme as the coupe, as well as the exceptional storage capacity and track capability.”

All convertible hardtop roofs come standard in the same paint color as the C8’s body with Carbon Flash metallic paint on the nacelles and roof as an option.

The 2020 Corvette Stingray C8 will go into production at GM’s (GM) Bowling Green Assembly plant in late 2019. The hardtop convertible model will follow in the late first quarter of 2020.

Shares of GM stock were up 0.37 percent as of 2:41 p.m. ET on Thursday.