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Range-Topping Corvette C8 3LT Trim Level Sets Sales Records

The Corvette C8 is showing impressive sales strength, with customers scooping up every last available unit amid soaring demand. Interestingly, the range-topping Corvette 3LT trim level has set a new sales record, demonstrating some interesting insights with regard to Corvette C8 customers.

GM Authority has learned that General Motors has sold more examples of the Corvette 3LT over the course of the the 2021 calendar year than all Corvette sales in 2018 and 2019. What’s more, GM has sold more 3LT trims since the launch of the C8 than all 3LT trims of the final four years of the C7 Corvette combined.

In other words, customers are choosing the range-topping, feature-rich 3LT trim level more often than was the case for the C7 Corvette. This is part of the reason that Average Transaction Prices (ATPs) for the Corvette C8 hover around the $80,000 mark. And that’s only for the base-model Corvette C8 Stingray – new, more-expensive variants, such as the forthcoming 2023 Corvette Z06, will likely raise ATPs even higher when they launch.

It’s clear, therefore, that customers find the C8 to be a bargain as compared to segment rivals, and thus opt for the range-topping 3LT trim.

The main differences between the eighth-generation Corvette 2LT and eighth-generation Corvette 3LT can be found in the interior. For example, the 3LT trim features the custom Leather Wrapped Interior Package, which includes a leather-wrapped upper instrument panel, door trim panels and console cover. The 3LT also offers the optional Yellow custom leather stitching, which isn’t available on lower trims, and includes contrasting stitching on seats, instrument panel, doors and console.

Natural Dipped sueded leather

Further interior features for the 3LT include GT2 bucket seats as standard, as opposed to the GT1 bucket seats standard on 2LT trims, as well as the Sueded Microfiber-Wrapped Upper Interior Trim Package, which upgrades the headliner, visors, A-pillar trim, and the trim above the windshield and rear window. Finally, the Corvette 3LT offers custom Interior Trim and Seat Combinations not available on lower trims.

A few other interesting insights include the mix of coupe versus convertible body styles, with the latter accounting for nearly half of all Corvette C8 orders. What’s more, the new C8 is selling to wealthier customers as compared to the C7, while also doubling in sales among Gen X buyers.

All of this adds up to some impressive sales performance. Corvette C8 sales continue to dominate the segment, accounting for a whopping 63 percent of the segment share.

Sales Numbers - Premium Sports Cars - 2021 - USA

MODEL YTD 21 / YTD 20 YTD 21 YTD 20 YTD 21 SHARE YTD 20 SHARE
CHEVROLET CORVETTE +52.78% 33,041 21,626 63% 51%
PORSCHE 911 +13.60% 10,042 8,840 19% 21%
PORSCHE 718 +24.51% 4,292 3,447 8% 8%
MERCEDES-BENZ AMG GT -10.86% 3,110 3,489 6% 8%
AUDI R8 +11.70% 649 581 1% 1%
MERCEDES-BENZ SL-CLASS -74.07% 462 1,782 1% 4%
MERCEDES-BENZ SLC-CLASS -89.21% 229 2,122 0% 5%
NISSAN GT-R -25.33% 227 304 0% 1%
FORD GT -18.29% 143 175 0% 0%
ACURA NSX -3.13% 124 128 0% 0%
BMW I8 -90.58% 18 191 0% 0%
TOTAL +22.61% 52,337 42,685

How will the new Corvette C8 Z06 and other high-performance models affect all this? We’ll find out later this year, so make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more mid-engine Corvette news, Corvette C8 news, Corvette news, Chevrolet news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. I knew it, when I drove past the seniors golf course the amount of C8 there was amazing 🙃😐🙃..

    Reply
    1. Only old people has the money to buy it the cool guys like you can only buy them when they come to the second hand market ha ha

      Reply
      1. Us old guys worked a lot of years to afford a few toys in our lives now and again.

        Reply
      2. Lots of techies and other highly paid 30 somethings can and do easily afford a Vette. The difference is they want the C8, but never got involved in previous generations.

        Reply
    2. Well that’s because you can’t fit a set of golf clubs in a Porsche.

      Reply
      1. …..🙃🤣🙃….

        Reply
    3. Enjoy your Prius.

      Reply
    4. A jealous rant from a small minded, angry, unimportant little man.

      Reply
      1. We are talking about real cars here not the hot wheels corvette you have.

        Reply
    5. My 2021 leaked oil they wanted to replace the transmission nobody knows how to fix them I sold it in two weeks sorry for the next owner

      Reply
    6. I’m of the thought process they should take these old prunes DL once they hit 65. They become a danger to themselves and everyone else on the road. Slow reaction time can’t see people coming on their side ect…

      Reply
      1. I, sir, am 74 and would go up against you on a track with my C7 or C8 anytime. I workout 3 times a week, and still ride motorcycles cross country. And yet, I do know my limitations. How about if you check back in, in about 55 years, when you are 65 and tell us if you have the same thought process.

        Reply
      2. Another useless comment from Johnny boy. A broke, bitter, defeated little man.

        Reply
        1. Doesn’t that say more about you that his comment offended you.

          Reply
  2. Customer: I want to order a Corvette 3LT
    Dealer: Great, we’ll need a $1,000 Deposit and the price will be MSRP + $10K
    Customer: Dealers shouldn’t be allowed to markup over MSRP
    Dealer: But it’s ok for a customer to make $20-$30K reselling it? Ok…lol.

    Reply
    1. Customer: Yes it is because I didn’t commit to selling it for a particular a price (MSRP)

      Reply
    2. Why is this so complicated for people to comprehend? Can you call gm right now yourself and tell them you want a vehicle? What’s that no? Ohhhh that’s right of course you can’t how stupid of me you have no choice but to use a dealer because they lobbied politicians 40+ years ago that passed laws so manufactures can not get rid of them.
      Customer: I would like to buy this milk for $3
      Grocery store: lol no you will pay $20
      Customer: but I thought the price was $3
      Grocery store: we can do as we please

      Reply
    3. What dealers are marking them up? I don’t think it’s happening as much as people think. All Corvettes are currently already sold as they come off the assembly line. That means a customer has to put money down and they are on a waitlist. My neighbor has been in a wait list for almost two years. Anyway, when you put money down you’re locked in at a fair msrp price similar to what you may find when you build your Corvette on Chevy.com. The only time a dealer can jack up the price is if a customer who’s order came in and they didn’t want the car anymore. Or Sometimes a gm or principal will order a Corvette as a personal order, but then sell it on their lot for a lot more.

      Reply
      1. Lmao tell that to the hundreds of thousands of people that reserved a bronco.

        Reply
        1. I don’t know anything about what Ford does with the Bronco. I’m pretty sure there are not hundreds of thousands of people reserving a Bronco.

          Reply
          1. Google “Bronco Ice Mountain or Dirt Mountain” on how many Bronco orders are on wait, many orders been replaced by a Wrangler or even a Ranger.

            Reply
            1. They crapped all over the dirt mountain people. I would be beyond pissed if I had reserved one and it was sitting their for 6 months

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      2. Not quite right. The dealers that are marking them up (MOST of them !!!) are adding on the mark up when you order it. The purchase agreement clearly includes the mark up when you order it. It’s not like they are surprising you with a mark up after you’ve ordered a car at MSRP (at least not in most cases). Rather, you know going in. The dealer is very open about telling you up front that you are buying the car above MRSP. But yes, if the purchase agreement shows MSRP prices – that’s what you will pay.

        Reply
        1. Ryan Kirkpatrick of Sam Pierce Chevrolet LIED to me. ALL Ryan and my sales rep (Josh) at Sam Pierce Chevy ever said from January 10, 2020, at 2:30 pm on the phone and at 3:30 pm face to face (on January 10, 2020) was that I was buying at MSRP. For 20 months as I waited and communicated with them (often) was that I was buying at MSRP. From day one they stated I did not need a deposit or a sales agreement because I was a loyal Sam Pierce customer and a GM BRAND loyal customer who had owned 27 Corvettes and purchased several other Chevrolets from Sam Pierce. Then on September 21, 2021, the day my now 2022 C8 arrived Sam Pierce added $20,000 over my MSRP original verbal agreement price. IT WAS WRONG and unethical. I want someone from GM to contact me and make this right. Sam Pierce wanted me to back out of buying the car that I ORDERED. That was MY CAR. I know Sam wanted me to back out so he could make more money. and advertise the car especially since my 2022 HTC C8 was built on the first day of the 2022 model year productio0n as VIN #00097. I had known Sam Pierce ALL my life and I looked up to him as he was a Vietnam Veteran, a lifelong muscle car purchaser, restorer, and he had helped me many times with direction on muscle cars that I was restoring and I had owned since 1982. I found out the hard way that you will not find trust and integrity at Sam Pierce Chevrolet (which is located only three miles from my home as my small-town Chevy dealer that gets three new Corvettes a year). Thank the Lord GM has multiple good Chevrolet dealers in my area that are ethical and trustworthy. Ed Martin Chevrolet, Hare Chevrolet, Devo Chevrolet, and American Chevrolet are all within thirty minutes of my home and all sales for MSRP. When you order a C8 get the sales agreement in writing and have your attorney look at the agreement to save you from being screwed like I was screwed.

          Reply
          1. Now that’s about as unethical as it comes – especially since he specifically told you that you were paying MSRP – and more so – that you didn’t need a sales agreement. Unfortunately, it was all verbal and he’s obviously one that does stand stand by his word or respect the honor of a handshake.

            Reply
          2. Buy a Porsche and you will not be disappointed. The fit and finish is second to none and the Corvette looks like junk.

            Reply
          3. Did you get that price in writing? If not, shame on you…..

            Reply
  3. When I realized that all 3LT features were interior trim, I changed my order to 2LT.
    The 2LT has all the electronic and mechanical upgrades.

    Reply
  4. I bought a new ’09 Corvette Convertible 4LT optioned(fully lined leather interior, etc. $72000 MSRP.). Babied it and kept it in a climate controlled garage, covered with top up and last year the dash leather started bubbling up and turning loose. The car never sat outside in hot or cold weather. I was very disappointed and angry that GM had no campaign to correct this. It is a 6 to 8 thousand dollar fix. So, I would advise not opting for the full leather interior, especially on the dash.

    Reply
    1. Possibly you cleaned it too much causing it to lift off the sub-base material. 6-8k for a new dash seems to be a bit of a stretch for even a Corvette-Chevrolet dealer. My 2k Convert dash is fine. Would you like to trade cars?

      Reply
  5. So Corvette dominates the category selling twice as much as next best selling Porsche models combined and comments are recycled aspersions about old guys and golf clubs? Trolls need to go back to their video games in Momma’s basement.

    The C8 is already a phenomenal success and this is only the first model. If the unions and mandate monkeys would get out of the way, it could have sold half again as many. The Z06 is going up the food chain so look for more exits by former competitors, who will try to ignore it until it is too late. Either they find some way to compete or they end up selling “overpriced men’s handbags” as one Ferrarichat user described the situation.

    Competition is great! Porsche is the only manufacturer taking this seriously so I’m very interested in seeing their response.

    Reply
  6. The 2LT is all I need. It has everything.
    GM deserves to dominate the market with the C8 because it truly is the best all-time sports car.
    To the person commenting about the leather dash lifting or separating; that sucks. The adhesive is simply failing or they did not put enough adhesive on it. I am a plastics / manufacturing engineer and I worked for a Tier 1 supplier that made the C4 door panels. We had a problem once with the door-panel armrest in the door lifting and separating. It SUCKED!

    It is sad we have trolls that want to get way off track about the subject matter.
    The days of thinking these are rich old white men’s cars are gone. GM is enjoying the highest amount of first-time young Corvette buyers in history.
    These are DREAM MACHINES. Call it a supercar that is totally awesome to drive. It is perfect in every way.

    GM hit a home run and the lucky ones that get to drive them are enjoying every second of every minute of every hour of every day as if we were in heaven. God Bless GM & the Chevrolet Team for making such a wonderful machine. We are LIVING THE DREAM! A+ GM! I cannot wait to obtain my 2023 Z06 and feel 670HP on rails.

    Reply

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