The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette has earned the title of The North American Car of the Year.

The independent North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards honor a vehicle that exhibits excellence in innovation, design, safety, performance, technology, driver satisfaction, and value. The journalist  award was founded in 1994 by Christopher Jensen, who also formed the first committee. The NACTOY awards are judged by approximately 50 professional and independent automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who work for magazines, television, radio, newspapers and industry websites. After evaluating the field of competitors, the jurors vote to determine finalists and winners in each category.

This is the third time the Corvette has earned a “NA COTY” award. The car was honored in 1998 for the introduction of the fifth generation and it also earned the award in 2014 for the introduction of the seventh generation.

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible 011.thumb .jpg.ab4cbcd7345514016f4dbf3d3d7c99f71

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Corvette executive chief engineer Tadge Juechter accepted the award at a public ceremony held at the TCF Center in Detroit. “It’s humbling to be selected for this award by such an impressive jury of automotive journalists,” said Juechter. “Our team poured our hearts and souls into this vehicle, and to see such an overwhelmingly positive reception makes it all worthwhile. We are sure our customers will love the new Corvette as much as these jurors and we can’t wait to get them behind the wheel.”

“The 2020 Corvette represents a new era for the iconic brand,” said Lauren Fix, North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year president. “The excitement from consumers has been overwhelming. From a journalist’s perspective, this is one of the best-built GM products that exemplifies what it means to be the North American Car of the Year.”

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 061
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

The Chevy Corvette is reportedly sold out through the first production year, which begins next month. “The first year is sold out for 2020,” Barry Engle, president of North America for General Motors told Motor Trend. The planned production for 2020 was about 40,000 for the U.S.

The new “C8” eight-generation front-mid engine Corvette starts at just under $60K including destination and delivery charges, but before dealer markups and doc fees.