The very first 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray just sold for nearly 50 times the American supercar’s base price of $59,995, netting $3 million at a Barrett-Jackson auction. Best of all, every penny of the proceeds are going to the Detroit Children’s Fund, a nonprofit that that aims to better the quality of schools in Detroit, where GM is headquartered.
Technically, the red droptop presented to the winning bidder at the classic car dealer’s event in Scottsdale, Arizona was actually just a placeholder. CNET’s Road Show reports that the real VIN 001 C8 will be a black-on-black coupe equipped with a 495-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 and the Z51 performance package. The auction winner will head to the automaker’s Bowling Green, Kentucky plant to pick up their high-octane prize and take a tour of the Corvette museum.
Chevy’s first mid-engined and most powerful entry-level ‘Vette will blast to 60 mph under 2.9 seconds and top out at 194 mph, as Maxim previously reported. It’s also the 2020 MotorTrend Car of the Year.
Last year’s production date was initially delayed due to a six-week United Auto Workers union strike that ended after GM—Chevy’s parent company—reworked a contract to give 4 percent wage increases in the first and third coming years and 3 percent wage increases in the second and fourth years, the New York Times reports.
Over 37,000 orders for the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe should begin to be fulfilled this year, and books for the convertible just opened. If interested, find an authorized dealer on Chevy’s website.