13 Corvettes Fighting for the American Way in Foreign Lands
The Corvette is the ultimate example of American exceptionalism as embodied in an automobile, but it is not available worldwide. However, that doesn't mean it isn't out there fighting for freedom and the American way via grey market and private importation.
1. Corvettes in Beijing
Everyone knows America is the greatest country in the world, but the Chinese are nipping at our heals. With barely any respect for intellectual property and copyrights, there are dozens of full size, drivable knockoffs of popular cars and trucks made there, much to the chagrin of BMW, Mercedes, and Mini. You can laugh at some of these knock-offs here, but you know what they can't replicate? The Chevy Corvette. That's why the real deal is being snuck in and selling for more than $250k, which is the sticker on these two C7 examples in Beijing.
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2. Corvette Racing in Japan
In Japan, they have a race series called "Super GT" which features street based cars like the Nissan GT-R, Lexus RC F, and Acura/Honda NSX compete on road courses. Look who came to crash the party, it's a C6 Corvette, trying to hide behind anime paint and blend in. Information on how it did is hard to come by, as all the sites are in Japanese, but I'm sure it was plenty competitive. After all, this is the C6R that won its class at Le Mans and finished in 5th overall.
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3. Corvette C7 Launch in Japan
Since 2015, you have been able to buy a Corvette Stingray in Japan, officially imported and backed by GM. However, this American performance car bargain is not such a bargain there, where the starting price is $93k, not including all the taxes and penalties for driving such a big powerful car.
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4. Corvette C6 in Korea
GM has a subsidiary in South Korea (Daewoo) which provides a lot of support for their small car development program. In return, Chevy sends them over the Corvette to make the residents to the north jealous. You don't even pay much of a premium for the Vette in S. Korea; the C6 had a starting price of just $76k when it went on sale in 2012. We don't know if Kim Jong-Un has any Corvettes in his rumored garage full of exotic cars (and tanks if you believe the movie "The Interview") but you can bet he wants one.
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5. Russian C5 Drifter
The C5 Corvette was available for sale officially in lots of European countries, so it is not too hard to get one into Russia, still it is not the ideal car for snowy roads. Unless you prefer to drive sideways. Take that Vladimir Putin! You can watch these crazy Russians beat on a Corvette and a Supra on YouTube.
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6. Corvette Stingray at Moscow Salon
Zora Arkus-Duntov, the man who made Corvette the performance icon it is, was of Russian decent, so it's about time his baby was available in mother Russia. Well-to-do Russians can now officially buy brand new C7 Stingrays without having to pay anyone a bribe to get it into the country. The picture above was at the GM display at the 2014 Moscow Auto Show.
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7. Corvette C5 Z06 in Paris
GM made a big push for the Corvette to be received into more European countries with the C5 because they rightly believed it was the equal of any Porsche or Jaguar. This notchback C5 was spotted by the actual Eiffel Tower, not the one at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas, still looking just as sexy as ever.
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8. German Police Stingray
No, the German police don't actually use Corvette Stingrays as pursuit cars, this car is just promoting safe tuning and modifications that stay within the law. But, wouldn't the relatively roomy, and easy to drive fast C7 Corvette be a better choice for law enforcement use on the Autobahn than the cramped and twitchy Porsche 911?
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9. C6 Spotted in Modena, Italy
If the Corvette has an arch enemy it would have to be one of the several supercars to come out of the Modena Italy area. Home to Ferrari, Maserati, De Tomaso and others, Modena is like the faster, sexier version or Detroit, if the big three only built sports cars. Spotting an American supercar in Italy is proof that GM is producing world class products again. And remember, Ferrari and others now buy the magnetorheological shock system developed by GM for the Corvette.
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10. Kuwaiti Corvette in London
This Corvette Stingray was spotted cruising near Sherlock Holmes's flat on Baker St, but how it got there from Kuwait is a mystery. Seeing as how all of Europe and the Middle East is about the size of the USA, and they now have a Channel Tunnel, it was quite possibly driven.
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11. Saudi C3 Corvettes
This is an interesting picture of a group of C3 Corvettes in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s, and the story behind it is even more interesting. GM used to have a large presence in the Middle East, selling Caprices and other large luxury cars in Iran, Saudi Arabi, and other countries. Seven C3 Corvettes were brought over by a GM executive, and eventually found their way to several employees of the Saudi airline, who worked a scheme to get them all exported to the UK where they preferred to live. You can read all about is here.
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12. Rich Kids of Tehran Corvette
Iran may make the news mostly for being run by a repressive regime that is the enemy of all the west holds dear, but the Rich Kids of Tehran social media begs to differ. These kids are out there striking blows for freedom, partying and excess just like the rich kids here in America. There are several Corvettes that pop up in the feed from time to time, like this yellow one hanging with the best from Germany and the UK.
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13. Corvette in India
Traffic in India is the worse in the world by some reports, so why wouldn't you want American air conditioning, and automatic transmission, and plenty of power to get gone when you do see a gap? The Corvette Stingray has been on sale in India for years now, and there is nothing there that even comes close.
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