Sam Krahn 
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives, and its ripple effect is beginning to reach all of us. Even in the car community, several elderly figures who have done amazing work in motorsports and/or preserving muscle car history have met an early end because of the coronavirus. The latest one, however, is of somebody who was deprived of something to come. An Oregon man, but the name of Greg, was awaiting delivery of his 2020 C8 Corvette when he passed away on April 8, 2020. The sad news comes from Rick Conti of Coughlin Corvette in Ohio. Conti is a Corvette salesman who also runs a YouTube channel, where he disclosed the news about his customer.
Greg had a C8 Corvette convertible on order, set to deliver in the next allocation cycle. Obviously, it’s uncertain when that would have been, given the current circumstances. After about a year of planning, he settled on a Torch Red 2LT convertible with the Z51 package. He opted for standard wheels but with red brake calipers to match the paint.
In an email to Conti, Greg’s wife Doris asked to cancel his order. Doris also said her husband was greatly looking forward to his mid-engined Corvette. Unfortunately, Greg’s convertible may have been pushed to the 2021 model year due to production delays, even if he didn’t pass away.
Throughout his video, Conti is visibly emotional over Greg’s passing.
“Talking to Greg was like talking to my grandpa… what a nice man,” said Conti. “This stuff is real, it’s difficult.”
This is the first time we have heard about a C8 Corvette customer passing away before they could take delivery of their Corvette, be it by coronavirus or anything else. It’s definitely a shame, as 2020 Corvette customers have seemed to love their new cars. The C8 also looks promising on track, where it recently chased a Porsche 911 GT3 RS at Willow Springs Raceway.
COVID-19 has ravaged the world, and it’s a horrible thing for everyone to go through. From all of us at MC&T, our thoughts are with Greg’s family and anyone the disease has affected.
