We are going to have an exciting choice when the 2020 mid engine Corvette is upon us, choosing a removable roof coupe or a hard top convertible version. I just love the fact that we are getting a 2020 ME with a hard top convertible option. Just the perfect ticket for many!First question, will it be called a HT convertible, or will it be called a “Spyder”? (Almost all Euro-exotic convertibles are called a Spyder.)
Thank you fvs for that wonderful rendering!
A hard top convertible C8 will however have three definite negative realities, and two highly-probable ones.
Perhaps none of them might mean anything to most HT buyers. Even I who have not owned a convertible since 1968, will probably have my second C8 be a HT convertible in spite of all listed below.
What are the known downsides?
1) Cost: It will cost at least $5,000 more. Maybe even $6,000, $7,500 or even $9,000 more. (A Ferrari HT cost $27K more than is coupe version — though to be fair it includes, standard, about $8K of items that are options on the coupe.)
2) Storage Space: Not a single HT convertible has the storage capacity of its coupe stablemate — just like the C5/C6/C7’s soft top convertibles all had/have less cargo space than their coupe counterparts.
3) Weight: It was just shared by Automobile Magazine (thank you, in the link below), that the McLaren 720 S will weight 108 pounds more than its comparable coupe.
What are the Spyder’s “probable” downsides?
1) Motor Not Visible: Unlike the 2020 ME removable top coupe, where IMO you will be able to see the motor by looking downward through its rear class, the motor is not going to be seen from the outside in the HT version — again in my opinion.
2) Timing: Just like most new generation rollouts, the convertible version will most likely follow the coupe down the assembly line. Will the HT thus start one month, three months or even six months later than the 2020 ME coupe? No one outside of GM is talking, at least not yet.
I would not be surprised that even at the reveal of the ME coupe (which I personally expect will be some time this spring), that there a 50% possibility that there GM will not even mention the HT convertible, and if asked at that event, utter a line we have all become used to hearing, “we do not comment on potential future product.”
Having said all the above, if you want a mid engine Corvette in a hard top convertible, will any of these five things make a difference to you?
Oh yes, and one more potential consideration for some, and that is aesthetics. Some have as much of a crush on the Spyder look as they did on their first date, while others are, at the other extreme, are so far not convinced its looks will be okay. Others are going to have to see both versions before they make their coupe vs Spyder mid engine 2020 Corvette choice.
https://www.automobilemag.com/news/2...5BA854457F0C26
