Lucas Bell 
When the C8 Corvette made its debut back in July in 2019, there was genuine excitement in the air. General Motors had officially committed to the dream of Zora Arkus-Duntov, moving the engine behind the driver for the first time. But as the year progressed, the story of the C8 became marred with seemingly countless issues. There was a UAW strike, supply chain failings, the global pandemic, and even a few recalls thrown in the mix. This resulted in Chevrolet not being able to meet customer demand for the inaugural model year, kicking some buyers to a 2021 build slot instead. As the year itself comes to a close, so does the story of the 2020 Corvette model year with this Sebring Orange Convertible.
First discovered by the folks at Corvette Blogger, this particular C8 Corvette wearing VIN #19456 is the very last of this year’s run. The car is slated to be delivered to Van Bortel Chevrolet in New York, where it will be greeted by its lucky owner. Corvette collectors have always had a thing for the first and last examples of a car made in every model year, making this mid-engined sports car quite special.
You may recall that the very first C8 Corvette, a black Z51-package equipped coupe, was auctioned off to NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick. That car cost Hendrick $3 million, which was likely a healthy tax write-off. The last C7 Corvette produced was also auctioned off, with the lucky winner spending over $2.7 million for the black Z06. Because of all of the issues the company has had getting customer cars out the door this year, GM decided against auctioning off this Sebring Orange example. With so few changes taking place for the 2021 model year, it is possible that this Corvette won’t have its own meteoric rise in value.
As 2020 Corvette fades into the rearview mirror, General Motors hopes to have a more fruitful 2021 with the C8 Corvette. The high-performance Z06 model is likely to be unveiled in the coming months for the 2022 model year, so this might not be too tall of an order.
Orange, in honor of Trump!