The Porsche 911 has long been the yardstick against which all luxury sports cars are measured, but there’s a new kid in town.
The latest Chevrolet Corvette has now managed what the brilliant but too expensive and too limited Honda NSX – and the highly underrated but now discontinued Audi R8 – failed to do: topple the 911 to become our pick as the finest luxury sports car available.
General Motors shocked the world when it launched the eighth generation of its lauded Corvette in 2019, releasing not only the first global version produced in both left- and right-hand drive, but the first one with a mid-mounted engine.
The move made Chevrolet’s iconic sports car a more direct rival for the likes of the Ferrari 296, Lamborghini Huracan and, yes, the rear-engined 911.
Launched with what GM does best – a big-bore V8 – the ground-breaking C8 promised Ferrari levels of engine and chassis performance in a purpose-built two-seat sports car, for Chevrolet money.
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Indeed, Australian Chevrolet distributor GM Specialty Vehicles announced a base price of $144,990 before on-road costs for the Stingray in March 2021.
By the time first deliveries took place in September 2021, the first batch of 250 vehicles was already sold out and there was no ETA on further shipments, while some dealers were gouging potential customers tens of thousands of dollars on top of official list prices.
But after growing demand from disenfranchised GM performance car fans following the axing of Holden, HSV and the locally converted Chevrolet Camaro in 2020, more supplies eventually arrived in late 2023 after several production delays and a $15k base price hike.
The hot Z06 arrived around the same time, priced from a cool $336,000, followed by the electrified $275,000 E-Ray in August 2024, and more price hikes for the Stingrays that now start at $186,990.
Nevertheless, that’s just $10,000 more than the cheapest BMW M4 and still almost $100,000 less than the most affordable 911, both of which offer less power.
Sadly, while the Z06 rides on Carbon Revolution wheels made in Australia, its exhaust and therefore power output were nobbled by our government’s fun police.
In more sad news, the most ferocious versions of the C8 – including the ZR1 that packs a twin-turbo version of the Z06’s 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, making a mammoth 783kW of power and 1123Nm of torque, and probably the hybridised ZR1X that develops an incredible 932kW – will only be produced in left-hand drive, ruling them out for official Australian release.
But no Corvette is a wallflower, with even the base Stingray 2LT Coupe and Convertible using a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 producing 369kW and 637Nm of torque.
The Z06 Coupe cranks out a healthy 475kW/595Nm, and the E-Ray adds a front electric motor to the Stingray recipe to deliver all-wheel drive and a very generous 488kW/807Nm.
However, the latest Corvette isn’t just a relative bargain and it doesn’t just out-power its closest competitors – it matches them for design, refinement, safety, technology and dynamics, with superb chassis balance, talkative steering, fantastic brakes and big rewards for drivers who dig deep into its broad skillset.
The E-Ray in particular has an enormous performance envelope, and delivers so much acceleration, sound and X-factor so seamlessly and – so far – reliably that it’s hard to believe it was created in the US and not Germany or Italy, as outlined below by my colleagues.
“Anybody who scoffs at the notion an American automaker can’t compete in the supercar big league needs to get behind the wheel of Chevy’s mid-engined C8 Corvette,” said CarExpert news editor William Stopford.
“Not only does this American supercar look the part, it offers the adroit handling and tremendous performance expected of such a vehicle.
“While the all-wheel drive hybrid E-Ray is my personal favourite, you can get a base Stingray for close to $100k less than the cheapest Porsche 911 and well under half the price of the cheapest Lamborghini or Ferrari. Try ignoring that.”
“After driving the latest Chevrolet Corvette – particularly the E-Ray – it’s hard to go past America’s supercar in the luxury sports segment,” said marketplace editor James Wong.
“The stonking electrified V8 drivetrain is not only blisteringly quick, but it offers an old-school sound, track-happy handling and of course those classic supercar proportions make it look twice as expensive than it actually is. Even better, the available Carbon Revolution carbon-fibre wheels add a dash of Australia to an already desirable recipe.”
“The obvious choice here would be the Porsche 911, but people seem to underestimate Chevy’s V8 sports car weapon,” said deputy marketplace editor Joosh Nevett.
“The C8 Corvette is the best ‘Vette yet – not only does it offer blistering performance, but also supercar styling and an interior that feels special to sit in.
“Then there’s the matter of money, as the base Corvette Stingray is a relative bargain compared to an equivalent 911. But if I had the choice, I’d shell out for the Z06 or E-Ray, both of which take the Corvette brand to new heights.”
2025 CarExpert Choice Best Luxury Sports Car
- Winner – Chevrolet Corvette
- Finalist – Porsche 911
- Finalist – BMW M4
To see all the CarExpert Choice winners, clickhere.
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