We Spec’d Our Perfect 2027 Chevy Corvettes, and Not One of Them Costs Less Than $100,000
The 2027 Chevy Corvette family definitely has the Brady Bunch beat. America's sports car now offers six distinct models (Stingray, Grand Sport, Grand Sport X, Z06, ZR1, and ZR1X), all of which are available in ...
The 2027 Chevy Corvette family definitely has the Brady Bunch beat. America's sports car now offers six distinct models (Stingray, Grand Sport, Grand Sport X, Z06, ZR1, and ZR1X), all of which are available in coupe or convertible body styles. That's a grand total of 12 different types of Vettes, and then you have to account for the multiple trim levels of each submodel, not to mention the cornucopia of available options. Since the Car and Driver staff has a lot of opinions about how they'd spec their ideal C8—and apparently lots of time to burn—several of us went to work on Chevy's Corvette configurator. See what we came up with below, and then let us know how you feel about our choices in the comments.
Meredith Conrow's $103,590 Grand Sport Convertible
I'd opt for the Grand Sport convertible, 'cause I'm not greedy. My Corvette, in 2LT guise with the standard wheels and all-season tires, is a year-round daily driver that can carve Southern California canyons and traverse Blue Ridge Mountain twisties with ease—top down, of course. I opted for the $995 Sebring Orange Tintcoat because why not? But I skipped the color-matching calipers, as they only come with fancy track packages I don't need.
For the interior, I chose the Sky Cool Gray Mulan leather to break up the Batmobile-like look of all that black. Heated and ventilated seats as well as the upgraded 14-speaker Bose stereo were the deciding factors in choosing the mid-level 2LT trim over the base 1LT. That choice raised the drop-top Grand Sport's starting price from $95,495 to $102,595, but my out-the-door price is still just $103,590.–Meredith Conrow
Caleb Miller's $144,970 Z06 Coupe
The base Stingray is a great car for the money ($73,495 to start), and the 1250-hp ZR1X absolutely warped my brain when I drove it earlier this year, but the Corvette Z06 is the sweet spot in the lineup, its naturally aspirated flat-plane-crank V-8 providing supercar performance and an awesome exhaust note. I stuck with the entry-level 1LZ trim, skipping some niceties but saving around $10K versus the other trims, which I'd spend on perfecting my Z06's look.
I chose the sultry Hysteria Purple Metallic paint, a no-cost option, and the $995 Spider-design Satin Graphite forged aluminum wheels. I decided to contrast the purple hue with red accents, selecting $695 red-painted brake calipers, red Z06 badges for $275, and a red engine intake for $595.
To make sure my Z06 stands out more, I went with the $9500 Z07 Performance package, which not only requires adding the eye-catching $8495 carbon-fiber aero kit but also brings suspension upgrades, Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, and grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. As a fan of IMSA endurance racing, I also opted for the special center caps that have the Corvette Racing script and the "Jake" skeleton logo seen on the C8.R race car.
Inside, I continued the color scheme with Adrenaline Red leather seats (a no-cost option) and spent $495 on Torch Red seatbelts. I also threw in all-weather floor mats with the Jake logo for $475. All told, my Corvette Z06 came out to $144,970—not exactly affordable, but not too bad for a car with this level of performance and a purple-over-red spec that I love.–Caleb Miller
Ezra Dyer's $151,120 Z06 Convertible
Confession: I went through a full build of a Grand Sport before taking a good long look in the mirror and asking myself whether I really want to be the kind of person who'd forego a flat-plane crank on my imaginary Corvette. And the answer is no. I'm sure that new 6.7-liter V-8 is a beast, but if I'm joining the Bowling Green brigade, I'm doing it in a Z06.
Specifically, a Z06 convertible in 3LZ trim, which puts me at $141,945. You could stop there and have a hell of a car. I will not stop there. No, because I require Roswell green metallic paint ($500), five-spoke pearl nickel forged wheels ($995) that remind me of the five-spokes that Ferrari put on the F360, and yellow-painted brake calipers ($795).
Now that the exterior's looking hot, it's on the interior, where I face a dilemma. I would absolutely love to spec the asymmetric seats, which put a competition sport seat on the driver's side and a more comfortable GT2 seat on the passenger side. This tells the world two things: that I am so serious about driving that I require an extremely uncompromising quasi-race seat, and that I am compassionate enough not to subject my passengers to the chiropractic rigors of the seat that I've chosen for myself. Also, it would just be fun to have two different seats, and I would tell people that they made a mistake at the factory, and so my car is worth extra money.
Unfortunately, choosing the asymmetric seats wed you to the asymmetric color choices, which I would endorse as well, except that there are only two of them, both fully unhinged. Choose the wacky seats, and you'll have the driver's side of the car bathed in either Santorini blue or adrenaline red, neither of which looks remotely appealing with a Roswell green exterior. This is all a long way of explaining that I'm going with the GT2 seats on both sides, in "natural dipped' tan Napa leather with the sueded microfiber inserts, which adds the carbon-fiber and microsuede-wrapped steering wheel for $895. This looks good.
Other than that, I'll take the front-axle-lift system ($2995) and the personalized interior plaque ($395). I'll think of a funny name to put on that later.
Grand total: $151,120. Sure, a Grand Sport probably makes more sense. But look, Ferrari's not making any new 458 Italias, so if you want a screaming naturally aspirated flat-plane V-8, I'd get one from Chevy before they think better of it.–Ezra Dyer
Carter Fry's $146,013 Stingray Coupe (Heavily Modified*)
What you see is not my final product. In fact, this Vette is intentionally bare bones. I shall bring the majority of my endeavor elsewhere, to the rich and eclectic expanse of the aftermarket. Let's go over what I've done in Chevy's configurator first, though. I'm keeping it as a Stingray coupe because it has everything I need that I wouldn't modify on my own (pay someone else to modify). I don’t need the Z06's widebody look or the ZR1's aero add-ons; those will be solved later. I've chosen the 2LT trim level because the differences between that and the 3LT are mostly cosmetic. Speaking of cosmetics, this car gets the default Pearl Nickel forged aluminum wheels (included), which would undoubtedly be listed on Facebook Marketplace in no time. I wouldn't wrap the car, so my paint choice is important. You can't go wrong with Blade Silver Metallic because the mods themselves will be loud enough. As a nice detail, the only other exterior option I chose was the Dark Stealth emblem package ($275) because I kinda like the monotone look of my build. Inside, I went with the Adrenaline Red/Jet Black combo with perforated microsuede inserts (free!), and I upgraded to the Competition Sport bucket seats ($1995). I was never a fan of the Stingray's aluminum interior trim. Fortunately, a Stealth Interior Trim package ($595) is just a mouse click away. The only other thing I thought would be easier and less to get from the factory is the front-axle-lift system ($2595). All told, I would be writing Chevrolet a check for $85,750.
Now for the fun part. First, I need a big-ass wing in my life. So I'm going to the king of aerodynamic appendages: APR Performance. Its website has several options for the C8, but the 74-inch GTC500 ($3817) caught my eye. I'd also grab a Street Hunter widebody kit, which includes a front carbon-fiber lip, front bumper extensions, front fenders, and some big ol' rear flares for $7000. Gorgeous. Now, here's what I'd substitute for the content in the Stingray's Z51 performance package. Borla makes a valved cat-back exhaust system ($4400) with ATAK sound tuning to allow the new LS6 to sing beyond neighborhood zoning laws. I'd upgrade the standard suspension with a KW V5 Coilover Kit for more fun at the track ($12,000). For wheels, I'd go with a set of HRE 209 CRBNs. The website says "starting at $6525 USD each," and the smallest size is 20 inches. For the sake of simplification, let's go with that, even though the Corvette has staggered wheels. Tire-wise, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s are the only option (Tire Rack prices are $439 per front tire, $692 per rear tire). Finally, I chose the Wilwood AERO4 Rear Big Brake Kit ($4684). For some reason, the website doesn’t have Wilwood front brakes listed, but this is a dream sequence, so I'm going to pretend the fronts are included in that price. All told, after the configurator and my aftermarket list are complete, my perfect C8 Corvette comes out to $146,013. Am I smartly saving money on a Z-spec Corvette by installing all these new parts at home or wasting what time I have left in this world?–Carter Fry
Chris Langrill's $262,270 ZR1X Convertible
I went with the ZR1X convertible and top-of-the-line 3LZ trim level in black because this is America—more is more—and why the h-e-double-hockey-sticks not? I already think I'm a tough guy at a stoplight on Woodward Avenue in my black Jeep Compass Trailhawk; with its turbo four and my lead foot, it can surprise unsuspecting drivers who pull up to my left or right. In this thing? I'd be blasting George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" and hoping the roughly 1000-hp increase from my Jeep didn't melt my face like the bad guys at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I added the $795 Bright Red brake calipers to the badass $1995 20-spoke Carbon Flash forged aluminum wheels because I liked the former's visual pop on an otherwise completely murdered-out exterior. I also went for the front-axle lift ($2995) because there is an awfully big bump in my upper driveway due to tree roots, and I added the Carbon Fiber Interior Package Level 2 ($5295) because, well, I thought it looked pretty rad.
Is this Corvette ZR1X way more car than I could ever need, and frankly, know what to do with? Yes. Am I trying to fulfill some childhood superhero fantasy with this Batmobile-looking spec? Possibly also yes. But, hey, that's why the last option I tacked on was the Roadside Safety package that includes the First Aid and Highway Safety kits with the crossed-flag logo for a bargain $195 (and a grand total of $262,270). After all, I'm a copy editor and not one of our testing experts. Safety first! –Chris Langrill
Eric Stafford's $319,723+ ZR1X Coupe
If you haven't heard, the hybrid all-wheel-drive ZR1X is by far the most extreme Corvette to ever roll out of GM's Bowling Green factory. But Chevy's 1250-hp two-seat rocket ship is much more than the ultimate Vette, it's an inflection point when it comes to American performance cars, with the ZR1X recently becoming the quickest car we've tested—like, ever. Its 1.8-second 60-mph time and 8.9-second quarter-mile run (on non-prepped surfaces, no less) are even quicker than a $4.3 million Bugatti Chiron and countless quarter-million-dollar-plus Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and McLarens that we've tested. With the historically humble Corvette nameplate going toe-to-toe with those aspirational supercars and hypercars, with a criminally low starting price of just $229,995, it got me thinking: Does Chevy finally offer a $300,000-plus car? So, I fired up the Corvette configurator to find out.
The subhead for this section probably spoiled the surprise, but, yes, you can definitely spec a 2027 Chevy Corvette ZR1 coupe for over $300K. In fact, I checked every box I could, opting for the most expensive option available if there were overlapping features (floor mats, exterior and interior trim pieces, etc.). Since my main goal was pricemaxxing, I won't get into my reasoning for every single selection, though I will mention that the convertible body style would increase my final price of $319,723 by $10,000. I also fell in love with the $500 Admiral Blue Metallic paint color, when I should've selected one of the other shades that cost an extra $495. Also, the $2695 microsuede trunk liner and $1494 color-override option require talking to your dealer, so they're not included in my listed price, but all of these add-ons would push the total to over $334,000(!).
For the sickos who want to see a complete itemized list of my Corvette ZR1X 3LZ, which starts at $240,995, here you go: front license plate bracket ($40), 12-volt battery protector ($100), black recovery hook ($150), rear protective mat ($150), collapsible cargo organize ($175), roadside safety kit ($195), "Jake" logo center caps ($250), Carbon Flash rear spoiler ($295), three years of SiriusXM ($299), black lug nuts ($320), chrome exhaust tips ($395), contoured floor mats ($495), rear red Corvette script ($495), indoor car cover ($495), Admiral Blue Metallic ($500), Competition Sport seats ($595), three years of mobile service ($599), Stealth Interior Trim package ($695), three years of OnStar ($800), front grille screens ($950), split rear window ($995), real carbon-fiber mirror caps ($1395), full-length racing stripes ($1295), ZTK Track Performance pack ($1500), two-piece Corvette-branded leather travel bags ($1695), Corvette museum delivery ($1695), red rear-hatch strut brackets ($1995), carb0n-fiber sill plates ($1995), spare transparent roof panel ($2525), carbon-fiber engine cross brace ($2895), front-axle-life system ($2995), Carbon Fiber Interior Package Level 2 ($5295), customer VIN engine reservation ($5495), Corvette engine build experience ($9995), ZR1X Carbon Fiber Aero package ($12,995), and carbon-fiber wheels ($15,995).–Eric Stafford
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Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si.