1973 Chevrolet Corvette Pricing and Specs

The C8 Corvette (current model) is a fabulous piece of kit. It gives more or less supercar performance and handling for less than half the price of many established supercars, which makes it one of the all-time great motoring bargains.

As far as reliability goes, that will depend on the car’s history and whether it’s been maintained correctly. I’d also be a bit leery of car that has seen its share of track use (something the Corvette is otherwise very good at thanks to its performance envelope).

The 6.2-litre engine is a very well known quantity and is generally regarded as bulletproof. The only real question mark lies over the dual-clutch transmission, and some owners overseas have reported electronic and oil leak problems with the Corvette’s transmission. It’s worth mentioning, though, that our conditions don’t always match those of other countries, but the small number of Australian-delivered C8 Corvettes makes it hard to know how widespread these problems are.

Would I own one? In a heartbeat.

We hear lots of speculation but nothing solid yet. If it happens it's most likely to be the Corvette, which will be easier to convert to right-hand drive. GM International boss Stefan Jacoby told CarsGuide's Joshua Dowling in January: "We will bring a true sports car to Australia for the brand Holden."

RUNNING a different fuel -- or even a cleaner through the engine regularly -- might well be a way of preventing the carbon build-up that leads to the problem with the plugs in the Ford V8. The problem is most people only realise there is a problem when the plugs break while being removed.