ALEX KIERSTEIN
It sure seems like the oft-rumored 2021 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray R Special Edition graphics package is going to make its debut very soon. These shots show a couple of Corvette C8.R racers and a white street-spec C8 with a distinctive, motorsport-inspired graphics package, sitting under a bridge at the iconic Wisconsin road course near Elkhart Lake ahead of this past weekend's race. While a Chevrolet spokesperson we spoke to said there were no announcements at this time and that they couldn't confirm whether this would show up on road-going C8s anytime soon, lining up the evidence before us (and leaked elsewhere) means we think the Stingray R is more of matter of when than if.
So what was this special white car with the words "Stingray R" on the front splitter doing at Road America? It was the event's pace car, that much is certain. It was an auspicious sign, since the 'Vettes took first and second at the event. But for everyone not at the race but interested in the new road-going C8 package, what are we looking at exactly? It seems like this is mainly an appearance package that is a nod to the C8.R liveries, according to leaked 2021 Corvette Order Guide information uncovered by GM Authority. It's described as graphics and wheel cap (that is to say, the little hub caps that clip into alloy wheels) package in those materials.
The latter are hard to see in these photos, but the former are readily apparent. There's the script on the front splitter, the stripe running over the hood and roof with the "Jake" skull logo subtly integrated, and a bowtie integrated the same way on the roof stripe. It's similar to, but not exactly the same, as the C8.R's stripe package. The red mirror caps and wing end plates, which are a nod to the C8.Rs, are a really nice touch. The windshield banner might make it to the production graphics package, but we're guessing it's related to its pace car role—just like the Road America graphics on the doors and the "OFFICIAL PACE CAR" text on the side skirts.
The bottom line here is that we're fairly sure this graphics package is coming to a C8 near you, without some of the pace car replica trappings, at some point in the future. When is an open question, but Chevy tells us we'll be among the first to know.