Chevrolet Japan has launched the Corvette V8 Tourer, a limited version of the mid-engine C8 convertible that is capped at 15 units and offered exclusively to buyers in Japan. The price starts at 21,500,000 yen, which CarScoops converted to about $135,600, and the car comes in a single exterior color, Red Mist Metallic, with full-length silver racing stripes. CarScoops reported the launch on Oct. 20.
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Nothing about the run is large. Fifteen cars spread across an entire country is a count that dealers can track by name, and Chevrolet’s own page for the model describes the quantity as 15 nationwide.
Fifteen cars at 21,500,000 yen
The Chevrolet Japan page for the V8 Tourer lists the price as 21,500,000 yen with tax included for the convertible, and it limits the run to 15 cars. CarScoops put the premium at roughly 1,900,000 yen, or about $12,000, over a standard Stingray in Japan. That gap buys a specification that is fixed rather than configurable: there is one paint color, one set of stripes and one interior, so a buyer chooses whether to order the car and not how it looks.
The exterior package pairs Red Mist Metallic Tintcoat with Starling Silver dual racing stripes that run the full length of the body, along with chrome emblems and name plates, forged five-split-spoke wheels in pearl nickel, black brake calipers and a red cover over the LT2 engine. CarScoops adds that the side air vent vanes are color-matched to the body.
Inside, the V8 Tourer uses tan leather, which Chevrolet Japan calls Natural Dipped, on the seats, door cards and dashboard, with GT2 bucket seats and natural-colored seat belts. The steering wheel is black leather, and CarScoops notes metal speaker grilles and switch panels, tan floor mats, while Chevrolet Japan lists a limited-edition floor mat and passenger ornament. Like the exterior, the cabin comes in only one configuration.
The currency figures hold together when checked against one another. A price of 21,500,000 yen equal to about $135,600 implies an exchange rate near 159 yen to the dollar, and the 1,900,000-yen premium converting to about $12,000 lands at nearly the same rate. Backing the premium out of the sticker price puts a standard Stingray in Japan near 19,600,000 yen, a derived figure rather than a published one. Dollar amounts will move with the exchange rate, while the yen price and the 15-car limit are the fixed parts.
The 6.2-liter LT2 and the right-hand-drive reason
Power comes from the 6.2-liter naturally aspirated LT2 V8, listed by Chevrolet Japan at 6,156 cc and paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. CarScoops quotes 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. By comparison, the 6.7-liter LS6 V8 in North American cars is rated at 535 horsepower and 520 pound-feet, according to the same report, so the Japan-only edition gives up output to the engine that Chevrolet chose to keep building for right-hand-drive markets.
That choice is the reason the car exists in this form. CarScoops explained in September that Chevrolet continues to build Stingray models with the older 6.2-liter engine alongside the 2027 model, and the V8 Tourer draws on that supply. Chevrolet Japan’s steering-wheel-on-the-right configuration is part of the same package, so the car is built for local roads and cannot be ordered anywhere else.
The output gap is modest on paper. The quoted 495 horsepower is 40 below the North American 535, and the 470 pound-feet is 50 below 520, differences of roughly 7% and 10%. The V8 Tourer is also a convertible, which is the body style CarScoops says it is built on, and Chevrolet Japan’s own description emphasizes open-roof touring and longer drives over lap times. The differences from the North American spec are therefore as much about the market, with its right-hand drive and older engine, as about performance.
Japan has had limited Corvettes before
A numbered run for Japan is a pattern rather than a one-off. CarScoops has previously covered a special version of the C8 sold in Japan in 2024, and in March of that year it reported that Chevrolet launched two limited-edition Corvettes just for Japan. Each of those carried its own paint, stripes and trim, which is the same recipe the V8 Tourer follows. Limited editions are also a wider Corvette habit: CarScoops separately reported on the 2026 Corvette Stars & Steel Collection of limited editions, so a numbered Japan run fits how the car is sold.
Chevrolet Japan’s marketing copy describes the V8 Tourer as a stylish grand tourer with an open-roof touring character, aimed at longer drives, and no named Chevrolet executive is quoted in either the company page or the CarScoops report. Two things remain unstated in both: the period during which the 15 cars can be ordered, and how many have already been allocated. Until Chevrolet Japan publishes either, the only firm numbers are the 15 units and the 21,500,000-yen starting price.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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