Liam White 
It was at the beginning of last year that General Motors announced the iconic Holden brand would cease to exist due to its rapidly deteriorating sales numbers. Then, about this time almost a year ago, MC&T covered the launch of the General Motors Special Vehicles (GMSV) in Australia, the new and improved replacement of the Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) brand. During the murky transition period from HSV to GMSV, the Aussies didn’t have a clear answer as to how importation of the new C8 Corvette would function without a GM base camp on the continent. As it worked out, GMSV ended up being the answer and the Land Down Under was graced with a RHD C8 Corvette expected to arrive in 2021. Now, as initially reported by Australia’s Cars Guide, GMSV has also trademarked the legendary Z06 name for use in the massive island nation, pointing to the future availability of the 2023 Corvette Z06 in that market.
The Aussies Will Wait Their Turn For A Corvette Z06
With that said, it’s going to be a while before the Aussies actually get their hands a C8 Corvette Z06. The regular C8 Corvette Stingray, which is supposed to arrive in Australia this year, is still listed as an upcoming model on the official GMSV website. The actual importation and logistics of delivering RHD C8 Corvettes will take some time, considering GMSV is still a fledgling brand. The only vehicle currently offered through the GMSV portal is the Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium, which Walkinshaw Group is still in the process of reengineering for the right-hand drive market. Fortunately, the C8 Corvette won’t have that looming reengineering issue, as RHD models are being built straight from Bowling Green Assembly Plant. We can expect the RHD Corvette Z06 to be built the same way.
The GMSV Trademark Is Perfectly Timed
The Z06 trademark filing by GMSV couldn’t have come at a better time. Just yesterday Chevy released a fresh teaser video about the highly anticipated C8 Corvette Z06. The full reveal of the Z06 will take place later this fall, which should hopefully be around the same time that the first RHD C8 Corvettes will start popping up in Australia. Also, the Aussies most likely won’t have to wait as long as they have this first time around; once General Motors Speciality Vehicles starts importing C8 Stingrays, they can reasonably expect the Z06 models to follow thereafter.
