What we first indicated weeks ago is now official: Mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette has been delayed. Representatives from General Motors confirmed to Autoblog and other journalists gathered for a C8 presentation that the 40-day UAW autoworker strike caused the new Corvette's start-of-production date to move to February 2020. The car was initially expected to reach the driveways of waiting customers by the end of 2019.

About a month ago we started hearing rumors and internet rumblings that a mid-engine Corvette delay was likely, mainly because the automaker still had orders for the current front-engine C7 Corvette model to fill before the plant in Bowling Green, Ky., could switch over to the new car. It turns out those rumors were spot on.

Once C7 Corvette production has officially completed, there will be a plant shutdown for an undetermined period to move out the old tooling and bring in the new. Workers will need time to learn new processes before production-ready C8 Corvettes will roll down the line and can be delivered to dealers. Corvette fans have waited decades for a mid-engine Corvette. Now they'll have to wait just a little bit more.