Lucas Bell 
About a month before the C8 was unveiled, General Motors auctioned off the final C7 Corvette – and therefore final front engined Corvette – at the Barrett-Jackson auction for $2.7 million. While a lot has happened in the Corvette world since then, we’ve been patiently waiting to get a look at this historically important car. Thanks to a tweet by Chevrolet, the wait is finally over.
In a somewhat underwhelming post, Chevrolet detailed the black 2019 C7 Corvette Z06 which marks the end of the front engine layout for America’s sports car. This particular Z06 was spec’d with a red leather interior and an oh-so important seven-speed manual transmission, mated to the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 under the (front) hood producing 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. Considering GM has no plans to offer a stick shift option for the C8, this will also be the last manual transmission equipped Corvette to leave the Bowling Green factory as we know it.
Some endings are bittersweet. The last #Corvette C7 – the end of an era – rolled off the line today. It was previously auctioned for $2.7 million with proceeds going to building smart homes for veterans. pic.twitter.com/3NU7gWWbc6
— Chevrolet (@chevrolet) November 15, 2019
It is then no surprise that this car carried such a heavy price tag at auction, though we’re sure the fact that the money was donated to charity didn’t hurt here either. This C7 Z06 is without a doubt going to be worth some serious cash one day, so perhaps that will lessen the near $2,610,000 premium the owner paid.
Choosing a Z06 to end the 66 year tradition of a front-engined layout seems fitting, despite the 755 hp C7 Corvette ZR1 representing the power peak of the now old-school Corvettes. The Z06 was not a perfect car by any means, but it is old school by nature. The supercharged sports car offers up every bit of the childhood expectations of a Corvette, with a hair-on-fire dynamic to it, especially at low speeds or when moving off the line, as we can attest. Regardless of how good the Corvette is going to be moving forward, we’ll always look back fondly on this black beasty.
Pour one out for the C7, everybody. We hardly knew ya.
