General Motors is restarting production on the 2020 Corvette C8 today.

The newest Corvette is expected to go back into production at a manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The first one rolled off the assembly line on February 3. However, the Kentucky plant was forced to close in mid-March due to social distancing. Kentucky has now eased some of those restrictions. In turn, the plant is now restarting production of the bestselling Corvette.

Some automotive analysts speculated that Chevrolet would abandon the 2020 C8. With a prolonged lack of production, they theorized it would make sense to skip the 2020 year. Instead, they would focus on designing and building the 2021 Corvette. However, Chevy has confirmed that it plans to “continue to build 2020 Corvettes when the plant resumes production.” They will begin building the Corvette coupe, and then add the convertible version in late July.

The 2020 C8 was unveiled in July 2019. It’s the first mid-engine Corvette ever produced. The C8 is the eighth-generation of Corvettes and has been completely redesigned for 2020. In addition to the mid-engine, there is no manual transmission available for the sports car. It’s not even an option! The C8 houses a 6.2-liter V-8 LT2 engine which will be standard on all versions, including the base level Stingray model.

No More Delays

The Kentucky-based manufacturing plant doesn’t make everything for the Corvette, though. The chassis is actually built at different a factory in Indiana. The Indiana plant slowed down, but never stopped production completely. That means the Kentucky plant can re-open without additional production delays.

The Corvette C8 should be on sale, as scheduled, this fall. It’s designed to compete directly against rivals like the Ferrari F8 Tributo and McLaren 720S. First introduced in 1953, the Corvette has been nicknamed “America’s sports car.” About 20,000 Corvettes are sold in North America each year, according to industry figures. Even today, many older model Corvettes are highly coveted collector’s items.

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Devon is a writer, editor, and veteran of the online publishing world. He has a particular love for classic muscle cars.