Someone’s paid millions for the first C8 Corvette

Auctioning the very first or last example of a particular car, and then giving the proceeds to charity, is a bit of a thing among American car manufacturers. Someone paid $1.1million for the first production-ready 2020 Shelby GT500 last year, for example, and in 2018 the last ever Dodge Viper and Challenger Demon fetched a combined $1million.

So how much do you reckon the first mid-engined C8 Corvette brought GM’s chosen charity at last weekend’s Barrett-Jackson auction, given the last-ever C7 made a whopping $2.7million? Bidding started at $200,000, but NASCAR team-owner Rick Hendrick eventually paid a nice round $3million for VIN #001, all of which will go to benefit the Detroit Children’s Fund.

The red Corvette that appeared at the auction in Scottsdale is a pre-production car – the actual car Hendrick’s paid for, which will be painted black and have a black interior, will be built in a few weeks’ time once C8 production begins properly. We doubt the wait will bother him – Hendrick is a proper collector who also owns the first Heritage Edition Ford GT, the first new-model Acura NSX, and first C7 Corvette ZR1 among others.

The C8 is the first mid-engine Corvette. It uses a 6.2-litre V8 making 495bhp and giving 0-60mph in three seconds, making it the fastest base-model Corvette ever. And yes, it’s supposedly coming to the UK in right-hand drive form. Click on these words to read up on it.