Consumers haven’t seen much of an impact from the UAW strike of General Motors, but that appears to be changing as a new report suggests the highly-anticipated Corvette C8 has been delayed.
According to the Detroit Free Press, two sources have told them the car has been pushed back so the company can “catch up on production of the current model and retool the plant to prepare to build the new model.” Of course, neither of those things can happen until the strike ends.
Production of the Corvette C8 was slated to begin late this year and the paper says that could still occur. However, production would be limited and it might not happen if the strike continues to drag on.
Also Read: 2020 Corvette C8 Is America’s Mid-Engine Sports Car For The Masses
The automaker seemed to dismiss the report as they told the publication, “Chevrolet Corvette Stingray production begins in late 2019 and convertible production follows in late first-quarter 2020. It’s too early to speculate on production timing impacts on any of our vehicles due to the UAW work stoppage.”
Despite that, one person familiar with operations at Bowling Green Assembly strongly disagreed. As they told the paper, “I know for a fact that this strike is directly going to affect the start of regular production for the mid-engine Corvette.” The person said this is due to the fact that the company still has to fulfill orders for the outgoing Corvette C7.
Following the end of C7 production, the plant needs to be retooled. The paper says GM had originally planned to idle Bowling Green Assembly this week and then begin retooling it next week.
It remains unclear how many C7s the company still has to build, but there’s a lot of demand for the upcoming C8. It features a bold new design, an upscale interior and a mid-mounted 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces up to 495 hp (369 kW / 502 PS) and 470 lb-ft (636 Nm) of torque. This enables the model to rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in less than three seconds and that’s pretty impressive considering pricing starts at $59,995.
