Chevy Corvette Stingray defeating rivals where it matters most

Wed, 16 Jul 2014

Everything is coming up roses for the award-winning Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, as new data from the North American Dealers Association dissected by GM Authority reveals that America's sports car is handily outselling two of its more expensive rivals.

Through June of 2014, the NADA notes that the Corvette has rung up 17,744 sales, handily besting the Porsche 911 and positively spanking the SRT Viper. Of course, you're sitting there thinking, "Corvette is outselling the much more expensive Porsche and Viper. Sky blue, water wet." But what's impressive here is just how thoroughly the Chevrolet is beating its two rivals, with this data serving as a testament to just how popular the seventh-generation sports car has become.

So far this year, Porsche has managed to move 5,169 911s, according to NADA. Considering that the base model starts at nearly $15,000 more than the most heavily optioned Stingray, and that Porsche owners have a vast, expensive options catalogue to select from, Stuttgart's sales are still plenty impressive in relation to the nearly 18,000 Corvettes sold.

The Viper, though, continues to simply flounder. With a starting price of $102,485 for a base model and $124,985 for the GTS, the Viper doesn't cover as vast a pricing range as the 911, but with only 354 units sold as of last month so far this year, it's far, far behind either the Porsche or the Corvette. Its more single-minded, uncompromising nature has undoubtedly served to limit its sales appeal to a larger audience.

And for those thinking that the Chevy is beating out its rivals simply because it's more affordable, GM Authority points out that it also easily bested the significantly cheaper (and older) Nissan 370Z in the first half of 2014. The Fairlady tallied up just 4,100 sales.

All in all, it's not a bad time to be a Corvette fan – or a Chevy dealer.

By Brandon Turkus