Traditionally, new cars have depreciated much more quickly than older ones. In some cases, simply driving off the lot knocked as much as 20% off of the retail price. Over the last four years, however, the cluster of supply-chain issues, production problems, and runway inflation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic flipped the rules of automotive demand on its ear. The result was a through-the-looking-glass shopping environment where it seemed like any car built in the past decade had halted its downward pricing slope and was actually selling for more money than it had the year before.
This bizarre situation also managed to rope in brand-new cars and trucks — in particular, anything enthusiast-oriented. In addition to dealer mark-ups that forced eager customers to shell out above-MSRP for the privilege of making a purchase, these vehicles began to appreciate almost immediately, throwing the entire second-hand ecosystem out of whack.
There’s evidence that things might be returning to normal, which is good news for anyone who’s been keeping their used car powder dry, waiting for some kind of price break. It turns out that it’s surprisingly bad news, however, for anyone who currently owns the eighth-generation, or “C8,” Chevrolet Corvette.
Not only has Chevy’s mid-engine supercar for the masses managed to find its way back to a more reasonable depreciation curve — aided and abetted by production edging back to normal for supply-starved dealers — but it’s taking fire from below, too. Or is that above? Because don’t look now, but the previous-generation Corvette has jump-started its own appreciation arc, narrowing the average-price gap between the two cars and, in one particular case, leaving C8 values in the dust.
Pricing Pulls Us Apart, Again
The numbers don’t lie: if you look at the average auction pricing for both the seventh-generation C7 and eighth-gen C8 Corvette, the past four years have seen the older car’s depreciation almost completely arrested. In fact, after a brief period from 2022 to 2023 where its sales prices pegged alongside every other sports car out there, it’s settled to just a bit higher than it was at the start of the pandemic.
What this means for C7 Corvette owners is that even if they stood pat during the pricing chaos and didn’t take advantage of surging prices, they still came out ahead. This is despite the presence of a much more advanced and heavily-hyped version of the vehicle introduced at the start of that very same period, a factor that is most often a death sentence when it come to sports-car depreciation.
C8 Corvette buyers also rode similar roller coaster — at least at first. Those dealer adjustments and owner auction flips propped up values for the latest and greatest ‘Vette until the end of 2021. Since then, the C8 has seen a pricing decline far in excess of what happened to the older model, to the point where the gap between the two cars was cut almost entirely in half, dropping from an 83% advantage to a mere 48% advantage, according to data from Hagerty.
The C7 ZR1 Has Reached Escape Velocity
Things get even more dire for the C8 when you consider that the above comparison excludes the highest-performing versions of the C7: the Z06 and the ZR1. Strange as it seems, it’s a mix of bog-standard LT and track-on-a-budget GS and Z51 Corvettes that are eating the mid-engine’s lunch, despite not being able to match the updated car on a spec sheet.
A quick check-in with the C7 ZR1’s recent auction sales is likely to singe your eyebrows. Built exclusively for the 2019 model year as a going-away present for that generation of Corvette, the car features 755 horsepower and 715 lb-ft of torque. Those numbers are extreme even through the lens of time, but they’re nothing compared to the completely absurd quarter-million-dollar price tags some examples are currently selling for. Even convertible versions — typically less prized among supercar fans — are cresting the US$200,000 mark.
The C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 was, of course, a limited production car, but we’re talking thousands, not dozens, of examples produced (2,894 in total). That it should more than double the price of the current C8 Z06 Corvette a mere five years after it debuted is mind-boggling.
What Does It All Mean?
The C7 ZR1’s status as the most expensive modern Chevy sports car makes it tempting to ask the question: is this last good Corvette? Further, does the C7’s general appreciation combined with the coronation of the ZR1 and apparent waning interest in the C8 suggest that General Motors made a mistake with the radical rethink of its iconic performer?
A close read of the situation reveals that we may be witness to something of a culture war among the Chevy faithful. The key differences between the C7 and the C8 include the loss of a manual transmission option and the migration of the engine from between the front fenders to behind the driver’s head.
Each of these changes has had a significant impact on the overall driving experience of the Corvette, and it’s not hyperbolic to say that they come across as two completely different vehicles from behind the wheel. The raw and aggressive nature of the C7 has been replaced by the neutrality-verging-on-understeer of the C8, as the latter prizes pure composure and clinical competence over knife-edge excitement.
This internecine squabble reaches its apex with the ZR1, without question the rowdiest version of the C7 Corvette. Throw in the fact that the record-setting prices seen for the model are almost all attached to those outfitted with its seven-speed manual transmission, and a compelling argument can be made that many of the Corvette faithful are far more interested in preserving their passion for the front-engine model than developing a new relationship with its amidships interloper.
The C8 Isn’t Down For The Count Yet
Where you stand on the C7-versus-C8 squabble likely depends on your own personal approach to evaluating modern automobiles. For those whose jollies are derived from a true partnership with the machine at their command, leading to an experience in which full participation from the driver is required to achieve the best — and most fun — results on a given road or track, then a traditional front-engine, manual transmission setup as offered by the C7 Corvette is something to be savoured.
If, instead, you worship at the altar of cutting-edge velocity, and count on ticks of the stopwatch, digits on the g-meter, and the smoothing out of human imperfections to provide a curated speed experience, then the elevated stats and ironed-out dynamics of the C8 are the order of the day. This is especially true for any owners keen to avoid being embarrassed in comparisons made between their rides and other similarly-modern supercars.
There’s a wild card coming in the form of the 2025 C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a car whose 1,064 horsepower is far in excess of that of the C7 ZR1, and which could theoretically sweep long-time ‘Vette fans from hold-out to hot and bothered if its personality proves to live up to its predecessor’s legend. Given that no one outside of Chevrolet has driven the car yet (or at least reported back about their experience) the C8 ZR1’s status as a potential equalizer remains a great unknown—and a potential anchor that could bring the most muscled C7’s prices back down to Earth.
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