GM will reveal the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, with the high-performance C7 Vette tipped to be “the most track-capable Corvette ever, designed to deliver supercar levels of performance through unique powertrain, chassis and aerodynamic features,” in GM’s own words.
While GM’s description of the upcoming Corvette Z06 is music to any car enthusiast’s ears, things are less spectacular on the marketing side. Tadge Juechter, the Chief Engineer of the Corvette, admitted that the 2015 Corvette Z06 may be the last one ever.
“If we don’t get sales back up, there won’t be a next one,” he told Digital Trends. He didn’t elaborate, but the message is pretty clear. Unless the Corvette Z06 satisfies GM’s board from a commercial point of view, it may not get a successor. However, the report from Digital Trends goes as far as suggesting the same thing is valid for the Corvette Stingray series in general, which could be discontinued by 2020 unless it racks up some serious sales figures – though, that’s something we highly doubt.
Juechter said Chevrolet sold around 13,000 C6 Corvettes in 2012, compared to 53,000 in 1979, the best year ever for the Corvette. In 2013, the C6 managed to outsell its main rival, the Porsche 911, even though production was halted for six months. Despite that, GM is purportedly not satisfied with Corvette sales and has high expectations for the all-new C7 Stingray. Having gone through bankruptcy, GM may pull the plug on the Corvette if it doesn’t bring in enough cash, the report says. So far, there are no reasons to worry though.
By Dan Mihalascu
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