New Chevrolet Corvette Stingray right-hand drive confirmed! Fire-breathing performance car firms for Australia

The new Chevrolet Corvette has taken one giant step closer to Australia, with the US brand officially confirming right-hand-drive production of its supercar-slaying performance car.

The Corvette Stingray is in its launch phase in Europe, and buried in the press material is a single line that will have hearts in Australia beating just that little bit faster.

“Available with left- or right-hand drive for the first time in Corvette’s history.”

Holden had already confirmed the Corvette for our market, but GM’s decision to shutter the iconic brand here threw those launch plans into question. Neither Holden nor GM has been willing or able to confirm right-hand-drive production for our market to date.

But with cars leaving the factory with the steering wheel on our side, things are suddenly looking up – though it must be said, GM, Holden and HSV are all yet to confirm the model for launch here.

You have every right to be excited. As previously reported, the Corvette’s numbers are genuinely hard to believe. In base spec, the mid-engine C8 will scream to a staggering 312km/h, thanks to its hard-charging 6.2-litre LT2 V8 engine, good for a signifiicant 370kW of power and 640Nm of torque, which is shuffled through and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.

As previously reported in CarsGuide, Corvette is expected to headline the line-up for a still-being-formed HSV replacement, now called GMSV.

At the press conference announcing the discontinuation of Holden in Australia and New Zealand, Holden interim chairman and managing director Kristian Aquilina told us there is “a possible business in the making with GM Speciality Vehicles”.

“We’re not at the point where we can announce anything about that today, but there will be some possibility to retain some staff around that,” he added.

GM international operations senior vice-president Julian Blissett then added: “We’re obviously in negotiations with our partners to make that happen.

“We’ve made some good progress so far … but the detail of what product and how we go to market is still to be confirmed.”