With a base price starting at under $60,000, the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe is a true performance car bargain. Even the pricier trims offer a lot of car for the money, with the top-spec 3LT going for $70,850, while offering power and acceleration that can easily cost twice that amount in a German or Italian sports coupe. Unfortunately, actually getting your hands on a well-priced Stingray C8 is a different story altogether.

Due to high demand and nearly 40,000 reservations received late last year, Chevrolet has battled to keep up. Now, several dealers and owners who do have C8s in their possession are realizing that it's an opportunity to sell them at a massive profit - dozens of Stingrays have been spotted carrying prices way in excess of the listed MSRP on auto sites like Cars.Com and Autotrader.

Silicon Auto Group LLC is one such seller, with a 2020 Corvette Stingray 3LT listed for a whopping $159,880, making it the most expensive C8 we could find; that price is more than double the base MSRP. The C8 in question does have many options fitted, though, such as the Z51 Performance Package at $5,000, the Engine Appearance Package at $995, upgraded wheels at $2,695, and a carbon fiber package at $4,850 (this package has since been removed from the options list because of supply issues).

However, adding up all the extras amounts to a final price that's still below the six-figure mark, meaning that at $159,880, this specific C8's markup works out to approximately $60,000 - more than the price of a brand new 1LT! Following this model are a number of other 3LTs listed at around $130,000, which is still a price increase of over 80 percent over the 3LT before any options.

For buyers hoping to score a base C8 that's anywhere close to $60,000 on the used market, it's pretty much a dead end. Not only is the entry-level 1LT the rarest of all trims, but if you do find one, it's likely to be heavily optioned plus carry a premium, owing to the scarce availability of any 2020 Stingrays right now. We did spot a more lightly optioned 3LT for just over $80,000, but this was the exception, with several 2LTs carrying heftier prices than that.

Clearly, the Chevy Corvette Stingray is a hot commodity right now, but paying more than double the price just to get one of them a bit earlier seems excessive. If you want one, it's probably better to hold out until Chevy can get it to you for the much more palatable original asking price.