Is the C8 Corvette Still a Good Deal?
Let’s test drive and review the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette (C8)! And thanks to @XPELinc for sponsoring this video! This 2026 Corvette Stingray Coupe is a 2LT trim with the Z51 Performance Package. That means it has 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, which is up 5 horsepower and 5 pound-feet from the non-Z51 Stingray. That power comes from a 6.2-liter, naturally aspirated V8 engine (no turbo! no supercharger!), and it goes through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the rear wheels. Chevy says that’ll get you from 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. The Corvette has been destined for a mid-engine layout almost its entire life. The car debuted in 1953 as a front-engined sports car, and it was like that for about seven decades. But in 1957, there was a front-engine Corvette at the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, and 23 laps in, the Corvette driver’s feet were cooked. Zora Arkus-Duntov was the engineer responsible for making the Corvette what it is, and he decided at that moment that the engine needed to be behind the driver. Not only would it improve the performance, but it would also stop cooking people’s feet. For decades, Zora made experimental vehicles and concepts with mid-engine layouts, including a couple of rotary concepts during the oil crisis in the 1970s. Nothing ever came of those experiments, despite all the car magazines saying: “This is the next Corvette!” Corvette generations are named in an easy pattern — C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, and so on. And for seven of those generations, the engine was up front, which might make you wonder: Why did it take so long to achieve Zora’s dream, especially since he was so vital in crafting the car? I’m sure there are tons of reasons. But the official line from Chevy was that the seventh-generation “C7” Corvette’s top performance trim, the ZR1, pushed the limits of what a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive (RWD), gas-powered vehicle could do. The C7 ZR1 was peak front-engine Corvette, and that meant it was finally time to change. The claims held up, too. The 755-horsepower C7 ZR1 could go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.85 seconds. When the nearly 500-horsepower, base-model, stock C8 Stingray arrived for sale, Chevy said it could hit 60 in 3 seconds — not too far off the top front-engine model in drag-strip speed. This C8 is from the 2LT trim. The base Stingray starts at $70,000 U.S. dollars, and on my monroney, this 2LT starts at $77,100. From there, we have nearly $18,000 in options. Those options include the Z51 Performance Package, $1,695 GT2 bucket seats, $995 five-spoke black painted wheels, a $1,695 “coupe engine appearance package,” $595 two-tone seats, $395 black exhaust tips, $500 Roswell Green paint, and more. After options and fees the total price on this particular C8 Stingray is $96,795 U.S. dollars. Five figures, baby! In this video, we’ll talk about everything on this C8 Corvette: how it drives; how much it costs, how loud its exhaust sound is; whether it’s the best deal on a supercar; what it feels like to accelerate, brake, and steer; the interior; the exterior; the infotainment system; the buttons; what buying a C8 in 2026 gets you; and more. Thanks for watching my YouTube channel. Enjoy the drive (and the video)! #cars #automotive #carreview #carreviews #alanisking #corvette #c8corvette #corvettestingray #chevrolet #chevy #chevycorvette #chevroletcorvettestingray #chevroletcorvette #sportscar #sportscars #supercar #supercars #corvettereview FOLLOW ME: Twitter: / alanisnking Instagram: / alanisnking Threads: https://www.threads.net/@alanisnking Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alanisnking.... TikTok: / alanisnking Website: alanisnking.com USE PARTNER CODE ALANIS20 FOR 20% OFF TONS OF XPEL CAR-CARE PRODUCTS: https://www.xpel.com/shop/c/care-deta... CHECK OUT OUR PARTNER HOMEFIELD APPAREL: https://www.homefieldapparel.com/ USE PARTNER CODE ALANIS FOR 15% OFF YOUR APEX COFFEE ORDER: https://www.apexcoffeeroasters.com CHECK OUT MY SHORTS CHANNEL: / @alaniskingshorts WORK WITH ME: [email protected]
