Holden’s new supercar starts on the production line

The most expensive car to be sold by Holden has taken a giant step towards hitting local roads to challenge Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Holden’s new rival to Lamborghini and Ferrari has taken a huge step towards hitting the road.

General Motors, which owns Holden, has started production of the new Chevrolet Corvette which has been confirmed will go on sale in Australia through Holden dealerships.

This Chevrolet Corvette sold for $US3 million ($4.45m).

The first example of the new Corvette rolled off the production line yesterday. But you won’t be able to buy this one — it sold for a mind-blowing $US3 million ($4.45m) at auction in January.

The Chevrolet Corvette is tipped to reach Australian showrooms next year.

The proceeds of the sale didn’t go into the GM kitty but went to a US charity, the Detroit Children’s Fund.

The new Corvette will be a cut-price alternative to the European supercars.

Tipped to cost $150,000-$200,000 in Australia, it will be the most expensive vehicle ever sold in Holden dealerships but it is still far below European supercars such as the Ferrari 488.

The mid-engined Corvette will have supercar rivalling performance.

The mid-engined Corvette has some serious Ferrari fighting ability. Its beefy 6.2-litre V8 makes 369kW and 637Nm — about four times as much as a Toyota Corolla.

And the beauty of the new Corvette is that, unlike the Chevrolet Camaro muscle car brought to Australia by HSV, it will be factory-built in right-hand drive and won’t require a long and expensive local conversion.

The Corvette is expected to sell for between $150,000 and $200,000.

The Australian-bound Corvettes will come from the same Kentucky factory that’s building the American versions.

Aussie buyers will have to wait — the Corvette isn’t expected to reach showrooms until next year.

for the money, buyers will get impressive performance. Full details will be confirmed closer to the model’s official debut but they can expect a 0-100km/h time in the low three-second bracket and a top speed in excess of 300km/h.

The Corvette is likely to be one of the fastest machines on the road.

Last month two General Motors engineers were arrested after they allegedly went on a high-speed joyride in a pair of pre-production versions of the new Corvette.

They were alleged to be street racing. According to citations quoted in local news reports the two were recorded travelling at 193km/h and 161km/h in a 72km/h zone.

The vehicles were towed from the scene of the arrests and General Motors representatives collected them from impoundment the following day.