The end is coming for the current-generation Chevrolet Corvette, with confirmation that the Grand Sport version will be the last variant joining the range.
With the announcement of the 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport comes confirmation that the current model is set to wind down.
The news is hardly surprising, with the Grand Sport usually added as the last variant in the Corvette line-up.
While the name extends back as far as 1963, the Grand Sport’s last-edition status started with the C4 generation, skipped the C5, and re-joined the range for the C6 and C7 generations.
“As far as a model line-up, the Grand Sport is going to round out the eighth generation of Corvette for sure,” Holder revealed.
While the news confirms that the C8 Corvette is on limited time, the wrap-up of production for the current generation will be far from immediate.
In the C7 Corvette range, the Grand Sport was introduced in 2017, running for around two years in the line-up before production ended. In the C6 Corvette, the Grand Sport had an almost three-year presence.
Holder mentioned the Grand Sport’s timing as arriving late within each model cycle and advised to “expect the same formula,” for the C8 Corvette.
Holder did not divulge when the next-egenration Corvette was due, with the Corvette using an elastic timeline between generations.
The C8’s immediate predecessor had a six-year lifespan, the C6 before it was in production for nine years, and the C5 had a production run just short of eight years.
Chevrolet introduced the C8 Corvette in mid-2019 and was the first mid-engined production model in the American sports car’s then 66-year history.
The Grand Sport will introduce a new 399kW/705Nm 6.7-litre naturally aspirated V8, while a new Grand Sport X, a replacement for the E-Ray adds a front electric motor for a combined 538kW output.
The Corvette Grand Sport adds Admiral Blue paint, to link it to the colour of previous Grand Sport editions, and ‘hash mark’ stripes on the rear guards.
The C8 Corvette could remain in production for another three to four years before the C9 Corvette arrives.
Holder had little to say about the current model’s successor, but did reveal the engineering team were “always working on the next Corvette.”
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
