Corvette Plant Closure Could Last Months

Kentucky Corvette Plant to Shutdown, Could Be a Sign That the Best Is Yet to Come

Rumor has it that the Kentucky Corvette plant could be preparing for a temporary shutdown, perhaps one that lasts for months, not weeks. The closure is reportedly necessary for completion of technology upgrades.

According to autoevolution, the shutdown of the Bowling Green, Kentucky plant could come as soon as the end of June. That timeline coincides with the final 2017 C7 Corvette making its way down the assembly line.

Corvette Blogger reports that an official announcement from General Motors about the shutdown should be coming soon.

News of the shutdown really comes as no big surprise. GM announced in 2016 that the company is investing $290 million into the plant, to add new assembly technologies for production. That’s in addition to a $439 million investment for retooling and adding a new paint shop. And another $44 million will be put into the build center.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About the Closure

The Corvette Kentucky plant also underwent a temporary closure in early January for a few maintenance updates, as highlighted in an earlier Corvette Forum report. The upcoming plant closure, however, is expected to last about three months.

Of course, talk of all the plant updates has fueled speculations that GM might be revving up for the production of the 2018 Corvette ZR1, which could feature an all-new engine. Others have speculated that some of the retooling could also be in preparation for a future mid-engine model. As we’ve previously discussed, the mid-engine Zora is rumored to be under development for a next-gen model.