Earlier this month, General Motors debuted the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition, a special edition model that honors the Corvette C8.R and its winning run in the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech race series. With a long list of aesthetic upgrades over the standard 2022 Corvette Stingray, the IMSA GTLM Championship Edition (sometimes referred to as Corvette C8.R Special Edition) appears to be designed for a very specific sort of customer. But who?
To find out, GM Authority executive editor Alex Luft spoke with Corvette marketing director Harlan Charles, who provided some insight into who the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition was designed for.
“A lot of out Corvette customers are huge Corvette Racing fans,” Charles explains. According to the Corvette marketing director, not only do many of the customers watch the Corvette Racing events, but some fans even follow the team and fly out to see the races in person.
“This Corvette IMSA GTLM Special Edition is for them,” Charles says.
Essentially, the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition is meant to celebrate the mid-engine Corvette’s championship-winning run in the the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Series, taking styling cues from the Corvette C8.R race cars. Based on the range-topping 3LT trim level, the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition is offered with two unique graphics packages, including the No. 3 edition, which features Accelerate Yellow paint with gray body graphics, and the No. 4 edition, which features Hypersonic Gray paint with yellow graphics.
The special edition Vette also features yellow brake calipers, Trident alloy wheels with a Black finish and Jake logo center cap, Carbon Flash exterior mirrors, black side rockers and splash guards.
The upgrades extend to the interior as well, with Strike Yellow and Sky Cool Gray upholstery laid on top of standard GT2 seats. Competition Sport Bucket seats also also offered. Final touches include yellow seatbelts and a unique C8.R Special Edition numbered plaque.
Just 1,000 examples of the 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition will be built, with pricing set at $6,595 over the price of a standard 2022 Corvette 3LT.
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Comments
With “Base” C8’s hard to find just laying around on dealers lots and so many orders not yet filled for 2021 C8’s I honestly wonder just who expects these special edition C8’s to ever make it to their new owner any time in the near future?
One more thing….have you noticed that all of the “Mighty Z06” hype has cooled down a whole bunch? So secret sightings, no sound bites of these up and coming C8’s floating around? So what’s up? I wonder, is this a good thing, GM is getting all prepared for the Z06 unveiling and allowing the suspense to increase, or is this a bad thing and GM is having some “issues” with something on these models and can’t yet make them saleable on the date preplanned so everything is “hush-hush” for now and GM is hoping that all of us Corvette aficionado’s will forget about this “Beast” for a while. Hummm?
New model reveals are often used to generate interest and pump up orders. Since GM has sold out production for years, there is less need to push the Z06 out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they take their time and bring it out when the backlog starts to decline.
The ZO6 Reveal has been pushed back to November I heard. I was hoping there would be one at Carlisle in August…Still hoping….I understand the car itself will not appear until 3rd or 4th quarter of 2022 and it will be a 2023…..I have serious money down at a dealer and am hoping I live long enough to drive it……………
There industry as a whole has struggled with the virus and chip shortage. It is not just the Corvette.
To be honest it is better to have pent up demand vs no demand. With the Vette most will wait as they are loyal Vette buyers and others because there are no substitute at this price for the Vette.
At Ferrari this the norm as orders come faster than they can be filled.
As for the Z06 we have seen the cars and heard the engines. GM kept on development in hopes the car would be out soon. But with the delays they ow the customers of the present model their cars and will use 2022 to catch up.
Look GM has a vehicle worth waiting for so they will wait. We waited how many decades for mid engine so a year is not a problem.
The Vette here is a good vehicle for dealers as it will sell at a premium. They will sell over sticker to many and it will be another car in a long list of Vette special editions.
It is pure marketing and it is fine.
I love Corvette racing but I would be fine with just a red car at normal pricing. I do wish they would have gotten the Yellow right.
The 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM package was announced 2 weeks ago, but it still isn’t available for ordering on the Corvette website. Probably because the factory is shut down for parts supply problems. Maybe it will be worth a liitle more to collectors 30 years from now, but for me it’s just a posser package on a base model car like past pecial editions. I’d be embaraased to drive it, even though I am a Team Corvette fan.
I’ve been waiting a year for the C8 Z06, but looks like its introdution will be delayed to the end of the year doe to supply and production setup problems as a 2023 model available next Spring/Summer…
Is there a reason it couldn’t be the same yellow (although I don’t care for yellow) as the official Corvette Racing Yellow?
They could wrap the S.O.B. for those that really care about accuracy. My droptop is going to be gray anyway, that’s just enough yellow to celebrate the C8R’s many successes.