National Corvette Museum to Suspend Bowling Green Plant Tours Starting in February

It’s unclear why Bowling Green plant tours are being suspended, nor how long they won’t be available, either. 

Unlike a lot of other brands out there, GM has long been keen to give Corvette fans a properly fantastic experience via the National Corvette Museum, tours of the Bowling Green plant where the sports car is built, museum delivery options, track experiences, and various other fun activities one can participate in. However, it seems as if those planning to take Bowling Green plant tours, specifically, may want to go ahead and get theirs booked soon, as the National Corvette Museum has announced that it will be suspending that experience in February – and it isn’t immediately clear when tours will reopen, either.

“Due to manufacturing advancements, tours offered by the National Corvette Museum of GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be suspended beginning Monday, February 5, 2024,” the museum said in a statement, “At this time, there is no confirmed date for plant tour resumption. The National Corvette Museum will remain open to the public and continue regular operations. To reserve your spot through Friday, February 2, 2024, visit us online at corvettemuseum.org. As more information is made available, it will be shared by the National Corvette Museum.”

While it’s unclear why, exactly, GM has decided to suspend tours indefinitely, it does note that this move is being made due to “manufacturing advancements,” which likely pertains to one of a couple of things, or perhaps more than one. For starters, the C8 is slated to receive a bit of a refresh for the 2025 model year, one that will likely include some interior updates such as the long-rumored removal of the controversial “great wall of buttons” in the center stack.

It’s also possible that GM will begin pre-production of the C8 ZR1 following this shutdown, which is obviously something that it doesn’t want the average person capturing on film and posting all over social media or the web in general. Given the fact that we recently saw prototypes wearing far less camo out testing, it’s pretty clear that we’re getting much closer to that new range-topping model’s debut – and the start of production.

It’s also possible that GM is simply doing a little retooling to prepare for these updates, which is why it’s suspending Bowling Green plant tours for a while. After all, it might even be unsafe for spectators to be tooling around the plant while things are being moved around and switched out. In any event, if you’ve been contemplating taking the tour, you might want to do so before February, as it could be a while before they open up once again.

Photos: General Motors

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