The All-new Corvette C8: It’s Not for Baby Boomers

If you have not read anything on the new 2020 Corvette C8 Stingray by now, I commend you for not being addicted to your smartphone. Proud of you! I assume the rest of you have at least one or two facts about the C8 already memorized. And if not, here’s a bullet list on the 2020 Corvette C8:

• Mid-engine design powered by 6.2 LT2 V8 with Variable Timing and Active Fuel Management 
• LT2 V8 has 495 HP and 470 Ib-ft torque
• Rear trunk can hold a set of golf clubs
• Base C8 Stingray is set to start at under $60k 
• 8-speed Dual Clutch Automatic, with no manual option
• Blade Runner-like interior layout with lots of buttons
• 0-60 MPH in under 3 seconds

I should also apologize for all those articles of journalists and bloggers writing about how they would spec-out their own C8 using the “build your own” feature. If I wanted to disagree with how someone options a car I would still be watching Overhaulin’ on TV.

The C8 Corvette Overtakes Baby Boomers

Getting all those facts out of the way, I want to discuss the controversy surrounding the C8 Corvette Stingray. People are choosing sides on everything from how it looks, the interior, and whether or not a mid-engine Corvette is still a true Corvette. Baby Boomers are being categorized as the C8 haters, and it’s easy in today’s “with me or against me” online rhetoric to make grumpy old man memes about Boomers complaining about America’s sports car. 

However, you have to understand that the Corvette is a Baby Boomer. It was born in 1953, and for nearly 70 years the Corvette has been for many boomer’s their sports car, status symbol, artistic muse and, in many cases, part of the American dream. But that is all over now. The 2020 C8 Stingray is the first Corvette that does not look like it was designed to target the Baby Boomers 

GM knows that the largest generation in American history will soon no longer be buying new cars. I’m not trying to be morbid…just noting that time – for young and old – is a fact. The 2020 C8 Corvette Stingray is a new-generation American sports car for a new generational demographic. This is a group of people that care about going fast, and don’t necessarily care if they have three pedals to do so. They want touch screens, and see buttons with a sense of manufactured nostalgia. They want their Corvette with supercar looks at sports car prices, and loaded with hassle-free creature comforts. 

What I Think of the New 2020 C8 Corvette Stingray

My thoughts on the new 2020 C8 Corvette is that while it looks cool, it reminds me of a Ferrari F430 with spiked hair. The concept of a mid-engine Corvette gave me doubts from the beginning, because I knew it would ruin the Corvette’s mystique. When I think “Corvette” I imagine desert highways, long blonde hair blowing in the wind, and the color red. An icon of Americana that until 2019 could be pointed out in a parking lot of sports/supercars by just about anyone with eyes and index finger. Everybody knows what a Corvette is. I fear that this new look will allow the Corvette to fade into the crowd of European supercars – regardless of what kind of vinyl wrap its owners decided to give it.

Other than that, I cannot wait to get behind the wheel and find out how the new Young ‘Vette handles its new mid-section through the turns. On paper the C8 Stingray looks like it’s going to continue being a contender amongst the high-horsepower, six-figure supercar elite. I also can’t wait to see what the mad engineers at Hennessey do to a C8 the day a customer walks in with a clean canvas and a blank check.