Corvettes Are Getting More Expensive Just in Time for the Holidays

As the media obsessively focuses on the upcoming, mid-engined C8 Corvette, the C7 languishes. Vette sales exploded in 2014 following the release of the seventh-generation model, declining ever since. Chevrolet only sold 25,079 Corvettes domestically in 2017 and, even though year-end sales aren’t yet in, General Motors looks ready to fall short of last year’s volume for 2018.

While it is not abnormal to see the popularity of a high-profile sports car wane in the years following a debut, it’s slightly less common to see an automaker increase its price without adding some new hardware — and that’s what General Motors is doing with the Corvette in 2019.

How much more you’ll be paying depends entirely upon which C7 you’re in the market for. According to Corvette Blogger, Grand Sport models and below will tack on an additional $405 ($905 for convertibles), while the Z06 adds an additional $1,000 on top of that. For the ZR1, consumers are looking at a $2,000 price increase for the hardtop and $2,500 for the convertible — resulting in an MSRP of $125,400.

Opting for the eight-speed automatic also results in a small price increase for 2019. Formerly $1,725, the transmission will now cost $1,995. You’ll also want to account for GM’s $1,095 destination fee and the gas guzzler tax applicable to the Z06 and ZR1.

Fortunately, the new prices only affect cars invoiced from this point on. Corvettes currently relaxing in showrooms will not be subject to the price increase. But the same can not be said for the next vehicle that rolls off a car carrier and onto a dealer lot.

Our best guess is that General Motors assumes dealers can sell discounted C7s for more after the mid-engine Corvette hits showrooms. We also suppose a grand or two isn’t going to change the minds of most prospective buyers, who probably view the model as a relative performance bargain, anyway.

Chalk it up to inflation if it makes you feel any better. Of course, it likely won’t — unless you’ve one of the precious few Americans who actually received a raise or meaningful holiday bonus this year.

[Image: General Motors]