Pour one out: Chevy has produced the last C7-generation — and thus, last front-engined — Corvette.
The last car to black Corvette Z06 with a red interior gaveled for $2.7 million at a charity auction back in June. The last C7 to roll off the line marks the departure of a well-regarded generation, in favor of the all-new C8 version for 2020 (and its eccentric interior). It’s the end of an era within the Corvette lineage.
The Corvette has gone the supercar-on-a-budget route, ditching its traditional front-mounted V8 for a mid-engine layout. As part of that transition, Chevy dropped the manual transmission option, which had been a seven-speed stick in the C7. The current C8 Corvette only offers an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.
The C8 almost undoubtedly will never receive a manual transmission. Putting one in could compromise the structural integrity of the car, and Chevy suggested to Car and Driver that the carmaker didn’t believe the manual take rate on Corvettes would warrant bothering with it. The powertrains of potential future generations — gas-powered, hybrid or electric — are unlikely to include a manual option.
Which means the last C7-gen Corvette that left the production line on November 14 was likely the last manual-transmission Corvette that will ever be made. There are still some great cars available with manual transmissions, but the list keeps getting smaller every year.
