Chevrolet wasn't exaggerating when it said at the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray's launch in July that the car will accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds, or 2.9 when equipped with the available Z51 package. That's proper supercar territory.
Following final calibration work, Chevy has now reaffirmed those figures, which means the C8 generation is the quickest in Corvette history—and we're still only at the base model.
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
The quarter-mile time has also been confirmed at 11.2 seconds with a trap speed of 123 mph (11.2 seconds and trap speed of 121 mph with Z51 package), which is also blistering performance considering this is the base model. To put it into perspective, the time is just a few ticks off the pace of the 650-horsepower C7 Corvette Z06, which clocks an official quarter-mile time of 10.95 seconds at 127 mph.
We've previously looked at how this could be possible but now Chevy has clued us in. While the 490 horsepower (495 hp with Z51 package) from the car's LT2 6.2-liter V-8 is impressive, it's the transmission doing most of the heavy lifting here.
C8 Corvette Stingray LT2 6.2-liter V-8 and 8-speed dual-clutch transmission
The 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, developed in partnership with Tremec, was designed with the goal of being able to send power to the wheels quickly and without interruption. Transaxle mounting also means more weight over the driven wheels, which helps boost traction.
DCTs are well-known for their uninterrupted torque delivery and almost instant shifts but specific tuning in the Corvette Stingray aids acceleration further. For instance, gear ratios were given a very low bias, which aids acceleration. A separate lubrication system was also added for on-demand clutch cooling, which helps reduce parasitic losses (holes in the outer housing allow for the wet clutches to operate moist instead of submerged).
C8 Corvette Stingray 8-speed dual-clutch transmission
Note, to achieve the best acceleration times, the driver will need to engage launch control. This is done by dialing the drive mode selector to Track mode and then double pressing the traction control button, which puts the vehicle into a further Competitive driving mode (Performance Traction Management mode for cars with magnetic dampers). Now the driver just has to mash the brake and the gas pedals together and then release the brake once revs reach 3,500 rpm.
The 2020 Corvette Stingray is priced from $59,995, including destination. Adding the Z51 package is a $5,000 premium. Unfortunately, deliveries have been delayed until February 2020, two months later than planned, due to interruptions from recent strike action.
