2019 was a big year for the Chevrolet Corvette. After almost 70 years on the market with a front-engined layout, the iconic nameplate became a mid-engined vehicle, just like Zora-Arkus Duntov wanted back in the 1960s. The C8-gen Corvette went into production for the 2020 model year, but the coronavirus pandemic forced Chevy to reduce factory output for a few months. Now, the Corvette C8 is available in the 2021 model year with small visual updates. You can now configure the 2021 Corvette Stingray online, and here's how our ideal C8 would look like.

Flashy colors and stripes

The palette includes the usual selection of white, black, gray, and silver hues, but you can also pick from a wide selection of flashier finishes. No-cost options include Torch Red and Elkhart Lake Blue Metallic, but you can also go with Zeus Bronze Metallic for a different look. If you're willing to spend $500 or $995, you can opt for Accelerate Yellow Metallic, Rapid Blue, Sebring Orange Tintcoat, or Red Mist Metallic Tintcoat. We like bright colors here at Top Speed, so we're going to go with the Sebring Orange Tintcoat.

Next up, you can select from a variety of accent stripes and decals. Stripe options are quite diverse and include full-length racing stripes in blue, orange, red, silver, yellow, gray, and carbon. Our choice is Edge Blue, which provides a striking contrast against the orange paint.

Moving over to wheels, you can pick from three finishes: silver, Carbon Flash, and Spectra Gray. Nothing beats dark wheels on a flashy car, so we're going with the carbon tint. It is also a bit cheaper than the Sterling Silver and Spectra Gray options at $995 (versus $1,495). You can further customize this area through Genuine Corvette Accessory options, including Black and Performance Pewter wheels and center caps in black or silver. There's also fender hash marks for $245, but they're only available in Carbon Flash, Midnight Silver, and Edge Red, so we're skipping them for our ride. We need blue hash marks, Chevy!

We'd love to have a rear Corvette script emblem in Elkhart Lake Blue for $395, but this option removes the stripes, so it's another pass. But if you're not a fan of go-fast stripes, you can also have this script in Arctic White or Torch Red. We finished off our Corvette's exterior with carbon-fiber front grille inserts and mirror caps for $2,095 and $1,245, respectively.

Sporty interior with bright accents

Options are limited to the classic Jet Black, combined with seats in either Jet Black, Sky Cool Gray, and Adrenaline Red. Red and gray don't really work with our blue-striped orange exterior, so we're sticking with plain black. Since we can't spend money on colored leather, we're ditching the standard seats for the Competition bucket seats, priced at $995. We're also adding the orange seatbelts as the only accent that echoes the exterior.

Keeping it affordable

We pretty much went for a driver's car that looks cool. We didn't spend too much on options, and we selected the base 1LT trim, which starts from $58,900. Our options list adds another $8,310, while dealer-installed accessories cost another $449 (ground effects package). Overall, this C8 Corvette comes in at $68,305, including destination.

How would you spec your 2021 Corvette Stingray? Would you go for a more expensive trim? Would you add more options, or would you rather keep things simple? Let us know in the comments box below, and don't forget to share your build photos.