2021 Chevy Corvette Stingray Suffers Another Setback

Feb. 26, 2021 11:26 AM ET by Karl Furlong Industry News / 8 Comments

It's been a rocky start to the year, to say the least.

Earlier this week, we reported that production of the Chevrolet Corvette was back on track after the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant where the mid-engine sports car was produced was adversely affected by the icy weather conditions. Unfortunately, Chevy isn't out of the woods just yet. According to Automotive News, General Motors plans to halt production of the Corvette from March 1 to 5 at the same plant due to another parts supply issue. However, the specific part was not explained, but it isn't the semiconductor chip shortage that has affected many other automakers.

2020-2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Front View

2020-2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Side View

2020-2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Rear-Facing View

As March 5 falls on a Friday, the plant will only return to operation from Monday, March 8. "Due to a temporary parts supply issue, we can confirm that Bowling Green Assembly will not run production the week of March 1," said Dan Flores, GM spokesman. Despite this newest production delay being limited to just one week, it's still not good news for a car that is in such high demand. Last year, the Corvette comfortably outsold sports car rivals from Germany. But while the car is undeniably good, getting hold of one in the spec you want has been frustrating since the very beginning.

Originally, the Corvette was meant to arrive at the end of 2019, but that date was then moved to February 2020. Not long after that, the pandemic caused more chaos. Perhaps a day will come when the Corvette will have a drama-free production run that lasts for a full year, but that hasn't happened yet.

There's better news on the horizon, though, as the track-focused Corvette Z06 is set to debut in July this year. It's expected to use a flat-plane crank 5.5-liter V8 good for about 600 horsepower, over 100 hp more than the current C8. Hopefully, this anticipated model arrives on time.