Covid-19 threatens right-hand drive Corvette

Lockdown delays puts forthcoming production of RHD C8s in jeopardy

By Matt Bird / Tuesday, 5 May 2020 / Loading comments

It almost seemed too good to be true when it was announced. Not only was the world going to get a cutting edge, mid-engined Corvette for the first time, but there was going to be a right-hand drive version as well. Finally, countries like Japan, Australia and, yes, even the United Kingdom would be able to experience the joys of a Corvette without requiring a passenger onboard for overtaking.

Now that possibility appears to be under threat. While in February GM doubled down on the right-hand drive commitment, rather a lot has changed since then. Now the news - admittedly out of Australia where the Corvette allocation was set to be smaller - is that the impact of Covid 19 may not just push back the arrival of the right-hand drive Corvette, it might cancel the derivative entirely.

CarAdvice is reporting on internal GM documents that state a pause in all future car and truck development will commence, a pause that will include Corvette. When development begins again, putting the steering wheel on the other side of a Corvette for niche markets won't be a priority. Apparently the RHD car was in the middle of its engineering work, with production scheduled to commence to at the end of this year or the start of 2021. Obviously that's now been delayed, with one source suggesting that the possibility of a right-hand-drive Corvette is in fact "close to none".

Which does all sound a bit concerning. But let's not get too worried just yet. A delay is just that, and not a confirmed cancellation. The potential market GM was interested in tapping into has not disappeared (subdued though it might be) and while changing priorities might have forced the manufacturer's hand for now, the development work is hardly insurmountable given that the car was envisaged with right-hand drive a possibility from day one.

The prospect of it arriving with subsequent, faster, more expensive versions of the Corvette is still obviously feasible. So maybe it's 2022 that the Corvette materialises with the steering wheel on the right, not 2021 - all things considered, it's not the end of the world. Well, let's hope not, anyway, because as the months and years go past it's surely going to become harder than ever to justify expenditure and resource on a 500hp, V8 sports car. So fingers crossed the C8 can get some priority when GM is back up and running - we want our right-hand Corvettes, please!

Read the PH Review of the C8 Corvette here