Twenty nineteen is a year that Holden is going to want to forget. Sales stumbled to their worst levels, its reasonably new CEO Dave Buttner left the building, and the Holden Commodore's fate was finally confirmed.
But there's at least one nice silhouette on the horizon for the car-maker to look forward to, being the right-hook Chevrolet Corvette C8. And, the first of the breed has landed in Australia.
Holden confirmed its Corvette Christmas on social media today, showing the first Corvette C8 to land in Australia at its headquarters in Victoria via the above tease.
Given the timing, it's unlikely that the pictured new arrival is a right-hook variant set to go on sale. Instead, it's most likely a test vehicle for local evaluation.
Holden alluded to its plans for local tuning specific to Australian roads and conditions on social media (“You’ll find the Corvette to be tuned and tested for our roads and conditions” it said, in a response on Facebook), which will most likely concern the way the C8 rides on local roads.
While American Corvette enthusiasts are picking up their new C8s as we speak, Australasian buyers are set to wait until 2021 for a local arrival. Local pricing is yet to be confirmed, but that didn't stop us from taking a stab at guessing back in August.
The Corvette's 2021 arrival won't just be momentous because of the fact its 369kW/637Nm 6.2-litre V8 is mid-mounted for the first time. It's also set to be the first right-hand drive Corvette offered new to Australia and New Zealand.
As it stands, it'll also be the only 'car' in the Holden line-up alongside the Spark hatchback when it arrives, given the scheduled 2020 departure of the Commodore and Astra.