Sam Krahn 
While the C8 Chevrolet Corvette launched in 2020, the 2021 model year was where things really took off. 2020 production was significantly delayed due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Once it was time to swap to 2021 production, they finally added the Convertible to the lineup. Even if it was delayed a few months, it was much closer to the production plan General Motors envisioned before the pandemic. With significantly more normal year of production drawing to a close, the C8 Corvette all-star engineering team of Tadge Juechter, Harlan Charles and Josh Holder shared some interesting stats about 2021 C8 Corvette production during the National Corvette Museum annual Corvette Bash, captured by Corvette Action Center.
Yesterday, we reported on perhaps the most interesting stat of 2021 production: the convertible is making up nearly half of total sales, at 41 percent. This shows the C8 Corvette has had a massive increase in Convertible popularity, probably down to the lack of drawbacks with the folding hard top.
Now that we have the rest of the stats, we’ve got some more neat stats. The color choices are always interesting to see, and Torch Red was the most popular color on the 2021 Chevrolet C8 Corvette at 20 percent of orders. Torch Red was also most popular in 2020, and we don’t see this changing moving forward. The rest of the exterior color breakdown is as follows:
- Arctic White: 14 percent
- Red Mist: 13 percent
- Black: 10 percent
- Rapid Blue: 9 percent
- Silver Flare: 7 percent
- Elkhart Lake Blue: 6 percent
- Sebring Orange: 6 percent
- Ceramic Matrix: 5 percent
- Shadow Gray: 5 percent
- Accelerate Yellow: 3 percent
- Zeus Bronze: 2 percent
Unsurprisingly, Jet Black was the most popular interior color at 28 percent of orders. Adrenaline Red was second at 25 percent, and Natural tan was third with 13 percent.
The presentation also provided a breakdown of 2021 C8 Corvette performance options. The Z51 Performance Package is continuing to be popular, with 69 percent of customers ordering the package. 46 percent of customers are ordering Z51 with Magnetic Ride Control, while 23 percent are getting it without the adaptive suspension. Only 8 percent of customers are ordering their 2021 Chevrolet C8 Corvette with Magnetic Ride control but without the Z51 pack, a new configuration option for 2021. The Z51 pack comes with the NPP Performance Exhaust system, but it’s also a standalone option. Combined, a whopping 87 percent of all 2021 Corvettes are leaving the factory with the valved exhaust.
Point is, the C8 Chevrolet Corvette is a performance vehicle through and through, and people are optioning it as such. The stats also show it leads the performance luxury sports car segment by a long shot, taking up 43 percent of the market share ahead of the Porsche 911 in second with 11 percent.
The 2022 Chevrolet C8 Corvette will be largely the same as the year before, and will be the first truly regular year of production. But while the base Corvette is only adding three colors and a new low rear spoiler, the real news will be the track-focused Z06 model. With 2021 production rumored to come to a close mid-July, bring on 2022.
