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Bloomberg
The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, which debuted at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is the first Vette in history to have a hard, retractable roof, rather than one made of canvas.
The hardtop on the new mid-engine Corvette Stingray Convertible folds seamlessly into the body, maintaining the fighter jet-inspired lines of the coupe version, providing a quieter cabin, and—in a feat of automotive alchemy—offering the same storage space as the coupe, even with the top down.
That’s 12.6 cubic feet, or enough to stow two sets of golf clubs in the trunk during open-air driving. An additional storage compartment in the front of the car, like those found in Lamborghinis, fits a single, carry-on roller bag and laptop case. It’s a triumphant update to a model millions of fans consider as American as apple pie.
“Our goal from the beginning was to make sure customers didn’t have to sacrifice any functionality, performance or
comfort when choosing the hardtop convertible,†Josh Holder, Corvette program engineering manager, said in a written statement about the new car.
By transplanting the engine to the middle of the car, evening out its centre of balance, GM is positioning it to handle better on the track and take on the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.
The tactic harkens back to the origin of the car, which also has European roots: American GIs returning from World War II had seen the MGs and other European sports cars across the ocean and wanted something similar once they returned home.
Designer Harley Earl persuaded GM to build a sports car to capitalise on this interest; the finished product was the first Corvette. All 1953 examples were two-seat roadsters that had white exteriors with red interiors.
Their fiberglass-reinforced plastic bodies set a precedent that GM would carry on through generations of Corvettes.
The introduction of the convertible edition comes relatively quickly after the July debut of the coupe. (It can take a year for automakers to pull the trigger on the “spyder†versions of their cars.) But considering the 66-year history of GM’s most-collected model, it’s an apt decision; when that first Corvette roadster debuted in 1953, it didn’t even come in an optional coupe form.
A fixed-roof coupe version didn’t come until a decade
later, when GM added it to the second generation of its wildly popular chrome-grilled, single-headlight cars.
The 2020 Corvette, with the first-ever mid-engine placement of the line, is a huge risk for a company that has seen sales decline and has suffered recent labor disputes, because it plays such an important role.
While the Vette accounts for just 4.7% of GM’s total volume of cars sold, it represents 11% of GM’s car retail revenue year-to-date, according to Kevin Tynan, lead automotive analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.