Soon, you can buy a right-hand drive, mid-engine C8 Chevy Corvette in Malaysia

For the first time ever, the Chevrolet Corvette is now available in right-hand drive, and Japan is the first market to launch it.

This is good news for fans of the American icon, who in the past had to settle for a Ford Mustang. For the record, the current C8 generation Corvette is a mid-engine supercar that’s closer to a Porsche 911, Ferrari Roma or Aston Martin Vantage.

And if you are familiar with how the grey imports work in Malaysia, you can guess where this is going.

If a right-hand drive Covette C8 is available in Japan, it also means that you can expect recond dealers to eventually start selling grey import Corvette C8s from Japan in about a year’s time (Customs regulations require a minimum 12-month gap).

Like all high-end cars, the Corvette is sold in Japan in both left-hand drive and right-hand drive configurations.

Two body types are offered – coupe and convertible. The latter uses a retractable hard top that opens/closes in 16 seconds, at driving speed of no more than 48 km/h.

The left-hand drive variant was launched in Japan at the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon and all 300 units of the initial allocation has since been sold out.

At launch, Chevrolet Japan only has 5 units of the right-hand drive Corvette, but more units will be available soon. For the latest updates and information on the Corvette E-Ray, be sure to check out the official website at Corvetteerays.com.

In Japan, prices start from 11.8 million Yen (about RM 445k) for the coupe, while the convertible starts at 15.5 million Yen (about RM 585k).

For reference, an entry Porsche 911 Carrera starts at 14.3 million Yen (about RM 539k). The Porsche badge and the 911's heritage demands that buyers pay extra before they are allowed into the community of snobs. 

Of course, don't expect to pay such low prices once Malaysian import and excise duties are added.

The coupe comes in two variants, 2LT and 3LT.

The former uses GT2 bucket seats with Nappa leather upholstery throughout the cabin while while the latter offers lightweight competition specs bucket seat, with two upholstery options - Perforated Nappa leather or suede microfibre.

The 3LT also gets red / yellow (only for yellow body colour cars) painted brake calipers and carbon fibre roof.

All variants come with staggered wheels 19-inch in front, 20-inch behind. The base 2LT gets silver painted aluminium wheels while the 3LT and convertible get machine-finished spectra grey aluminum wheels.

All variants are powered by a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre LT2 V8 engine that makes 495 hp at 6,450 rpm and 637 Nm at 5,150 rpm. Drive is transferred to the rear wheels via an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Adaptive magnetorheological damper are standard on Japanese market Corvettes.

Editor's comments: The Corvette C8 is more capable than traditional car fans want to acknowledge it to be. In every endurance race including the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race, the car that GT teams campaigning with Porsche 911s fear most is not a Ferrari or an Aston Martin, but an American Corvette.

Despite its race wins however, the Corvette will never be as respected as a Porsche 911 but that's fine, because the Corvette has always prided itself with its anti-establishment image, at least outside of America.

The Corvette is for the blue collar guy who've made it big and wants to show his middle finger to the established aristocracy. The Corvette owner is not looking for affirmation from typical country club crowd. He doesn't need one, because he has does things his way.