This Thursday the 30th is the last chance for hopeful C8 Z06 owners to get their orders filled, as it was reported Chevrolet had zero allocations nationwide last week. The basic economics of this will continue to frustrate Corvette enthusiasts who are shopping, as the demand for the super-hot Z06 is surpassing supply as fast as the Z blows by its competitors on the track.
The order banks officially close on April 5th, although there is some speculation GM may extend that deadline. I wrote here about how it seemed the C8 Z06 market may be cooling off, but this news could once again fuel the dealer markups and opportunistic flippers that are driving enthusiasts and hopeful owners crazy.
What are some production numbers for context? Well, as of March 1st, it is estimated that about 29,000 non-Z06 Corvettes have rolled off the Bowling Green assembly line. How many Z06s made it out the door in the same time frame? Just 992. Need more context on how dire this is for aspiring C8Z owners? In 2001 GM was able to crank out 5773 first-year Z06s, while subsequently producing 6272 first-year 2006 Z06s and a whopping 8,653 with the C7 Z06 launch in 2015.
Not to sound superstitious, but is the new Z06 cursed? In addition to the nixed allocations, we’ve got the plant closures, mysterious engine failures, and repulsive markups from dealers and flippers. Go figure, GM makes the fastest, highest horsepower, and most popular Z06 yet and just can’t get the job done on the production side. We often have vibrant discussions on our Facebook page, I would love to hear from you about the state of the C8 Z06! Douglas B.
