Chevrolet Corvette Stingray floats in minus some skin

Having unveiled the all-new C8 Corvette Stingray three months ago, Chevrolet has now taken the covers, and indeed the roof, off of the Stingray Convertible ahead of its market launch next year.

Like the coupe, the cabriolet represents a first for the Corvette moniker in that the two-piece hard-top roof, which can be opened and closed in 16 seconds at speeds up to 48 km/h, now resides in a storage area above the engine due to the mid-ship layout.

According to the Chevrolet, the C8 was designed as a convertible from the start with the coupe hard-top having been integrated afterwards, a decision project engineer, Josh Holder, claimed was decided upon so as “not to sacrifice any functionality, performance or comfort when choosing the hardtop convertible”.

Aside from the roof, which can optionally be finished in carbon as opposed to the standard body colour hue, the Convertible also comes with an electric rear window that cuts down on wind noise with the roof down, while the springs and dampers have been specifically tuned to mirror the chassis of the coupe.

No further changes have however been made to the exterior, interior or the mechanicals, the latter seeing the mid-mounted normally aspirated 6.2-litre LT4 V8 producing 369kW/637Nm as the Z51 performance pack, an option on the coupe, comes fitted as standard. Delivering the amount of twist to the rear wheels is an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox with no manual being available. As with the coupe though, no performance figures were revealed.

Production of the convertible will, like previous generations, take place at the Bowling Green Plant in Kentucky with projected pricing of $67 500 (R1 022 483), in the United States a $7 500 (R113 609) hike over the coupe.

Like its sibling, the Convertible will also be made in right-hand-drive for the first time, making it all eligible for markets such as the United Kingdom and Australia, but following parent company General Motors’ high profile local market exit two years ago, the Convertible will remain forbidden fruit for South Africa.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.