The all-new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 has arrived, and as expected, it has the entire auto industry in a tizzy. Chevrolet unveiled the long-awaited Corvette C8 — the first mid-engined Corvette, too — in Los Angeles, California, and yes, there’s a lot to unpack in the way of details surrounding the new sports car. So while the rest of the auto world drools over its design and performance potential, there was one particular detail about the Corvette C8 that caught a lot of people off-guard, specifically its price point. Apparently, pricing for the 2020 Corvette C8 starts at just under $60,000. That’s an incredibly affordable price relative to other performance cars of its ilk that it’s expected to compete against once it hits the market. Talk about making a proper first impression, right?

Chevrolet promised to make waves with the all-new 2020 Corvette C8, and that’s exactly what the Bowtie did. The ‘Vette C8 looks stunning at first sight, specifically in its mid-engine form. Those large rear shoulders and the sloping roofline that’s indicative of all mid-engine exotics showcase an authentic supercar vibe. The front section is also properly aggressive, as all supercars are supposed to look. The new 6.2-liter V-8 LT2 engine is not only an evolved version of the LT1 unit that sat in the front of the Corvette Stingray C7, but it’s also been completely redesigned to accommodate all the changes required from a mid-engined unit. Oh, and a base output of 490 horsepower? We’re completely on board with that initial figure. But as impressive as the horsepower mark is, that’s not the figure that caught our attention.

The base price of the 2020 Corvette C8 did.

That’s only $5,000 more than its predecessor. That might sound like a typical generation-on-generation price bump, but the Corvette C8 isn’t your usual next-generation model. It’s nothing less than a complete paradigm shift for a model that has, in its 60-year history, never been presented in a mid-engine configuration.

I’ll be honest. I thought that the entry-level Chevrolet Corvette C8 would be priced at around $80,000 to $90,000. At $60,000, the new Corvette already scores a huge win against most of its expected competitors, including models like the Lexus LC, the Mercedes-AMG GT, and the Porsche 911 Carrera S. To illustrate that, check out the table below to see the base price of all four models.

Chevrolet Corvette vs competition

While it’s true that the competitors on this list, namely the 911 Carrera S and the AMG GT, are presented in a more upscale fashion than the Corvette C8, will it matter in the end with such a huge gulf between their respective prices? At this point, you can buy two Corvette C8s for the price of one Mercedes-AMG GT. Even if the AMG GT laps the Corvette C8 in interior quality, safety features, tech bits, and the all-around aura of being a Mercedes, does all of that justify the double price over the Corvette C8? Some might answer “yes,” but you can be sure that a lot of people will struggle with that decision.

A performance car’s worth is largely measured by how it, well, performs. Using this metric, it’s hard to imagine that it’s the cheapest of these four performance cars that have the most power.

Chevrolet Corvette C8 vs competition drivetrain

The Mercedes-AMG GT matches it in the amount of torque produced by its twin-turbo V-8 engine, but it’s also almost a second slower in the 0-to-60-mph category. The Porsche 911 Carrera S can at least tug into its provenance as a 911 model, but it’s not like the Corvette doesn’t have its rich lineage. Classic car insurer and valuation firm Hagerty calls it the “most collectible car of all time,” a title it has earned over other iconic nameplates like the 911. "The Corvette has existed in a category all its own as an American car," Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty told USA Today. "It’s a pretty magical story through and through. It's very evident they're about to do it again

Again, I pose the question: Is the 911 Carrera S, as a whole, the better option at almost $115,000 than the Corvette C8 is at under $60,000? Even if some people will still choose the Porsche, it’s far from a unanimous nod.

This leads to another important point. If the base price of the Chevrolet Corvette C8 sits at under $60,000, is it fair to assume that more powerful versions of the C8 will be priced close to the current prices of their respective predecessors? As it is, the C7-generation Corvette Grand Sport starts at $65,600 while the C7-generation Corvette Z06 starts at $79,495. Granted, Chevrolet hasn’t said which versions will carry over to the C8 generation, but if the base C8 model starts at just under $60,000, it’s possible that these two versions will carry price tags that are close to the current prices of the in-the-market models.

Then there’s the range-topping Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. The current ZR1 that debuted at the 2017 Dubai International Motor Show — seems like ages ago, doesn’t it? — has a price tag that starts at $119,995, or slightly more expensive than both the AMG GT and the 911 Carrera S. The most expensive production version of the Corvette C7 ZR1 comes at $155,833. It’s a huge spike in price, but it’s also partly due to all the features, packages, and options that are included in the model. Heck, the $155,833 price tag also includes pieces of matching luggage in case you’re in the market for those.

The C8 ZR1 — should we start calling it “Zora?” — is expected to come with a hybrid powertrain that can produce a whopping 1,000 horsepower. Details are understandably still unclear at this point, but with Chevy already saying that hybrid tech will play a role in the C8 Corvette, you get the feeling that the Bowtie’s plans for the range-topping C8 Corvette will not only make it a supercar, but, perhaps, it’ll venture into the world of hypercars, too.

If so, how much would the C8 Corvette ZR1 cost? A safe answer would be somewhere in the vicinity of $500,000, but with the base Corvette C8 coming as cheap as it is, don’t be surprised if the C8 Corvette ZR1 is priced short of $500,000. If that happens, we’re predicting more jaws will drop to the floor than the ones that did last night when the Corvette C8 finally made its long-awaited debut.

Further reading

Read all about the mid-engined Corvette concepts that never made it to production!

Read our speculative review of the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1

Read our full review of the 2019 Chevy Corvette ZR1

Read up on the 1953-1962 Chevy C1 Corvette

Check out our review of the 1963-1968 Chevy C2 Corvette

Read our in-depth review of the 1969 Chevy Corvette 427 C3

Read up on our review of the 1997-2004 Chevy C5 Corvette}

Read up on the 2005-2013 Chevy C6 Corvette

Check out our full review of the 2014-2019 Chevy C7 Corvette

The 9 concepts that led to the mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette C8