RE: Corvette ZR1 at Viginia Raceway: Time For Tea

[unsprung]

soundslegal said:

Any mid-engine car will be much easier to re-engineer for RHD.

As for price - the foreign currency calculations already work like that on the Vette.

Right. As I've already stated.

soundslegal said:

But what we have to remember is that the US prices we always see quote are not 'on the road' prices - they don't include any taxes at all. However, in many states their sales tax is very low, compared to our 20% VAT.

Beside the point, really. And your comparison is not like for like. There are no on-the-road prices for EU car offers because tax differs per EU member state. Just as tax differs per US state.

I've never seen a European arrive in the US and exclaim, "Oh, things cost so much less here in the US, but I won't buy anything because I refuse to pay a six percent sales tax."

Also, as we all know, a handful of US states have no sales tax. And/or they have a separate or small tax on vehicle sales. Some jurisdictions do not tax clothing. Even high-cost New York City allows zero tax on clothing for items costing less than $110.

soundslegal said:

Lots of speculation over how much a C8 will cost but I can't see it will be as much as $140k for the base model. They'd lose almost their entire market in the US if they did that - over 1/3 of the cars they sell domestically are the lowest possible spec Stingrays, with the cheap interiors, low spec exhaust and engine, not what is sold in Europe. Anyway, rumours suggest we might find out more next year, but I agree 2021 seems likely for C8 in UK by my reckoning.

The front-engined C7 Corvette will continue to be produced (in LHD only) for a period of years, alongside the mid-engined C8. This will give the Corvette range the price spread that it needs in the US.

Additionally, look at the nose of the front-engined C7 ZR1, which was recently introduced in UAE (it will not be sold in the EU). In my opinion, this redesigned nose now resembles the type of nose that one sees on a mid-engined car. Perhaps this is GM's way of bringing the C7 and C8 closer together, so that they may be sold contemporaneously.