We’ve just entered October, which means cold and nastiness on the horizon for those of us in the northern hemisphere, but in the Corvette-land it’s time to start thinking about having fun in the sun with your new drop-top ‘Vette. We knew this day was coming, and have already seen what it looks like in pre-production form, but is now on display in all of its open top angularity.

The base model Stingray specs are pretty much the same whether you get the coupe or the décapotable. makes the same 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque (when equipped with the Performance Exhaust option). The same Tremec-built paddle-shifted dual-clutch delivers power to the same rear wheels. still has . It doesn’t have quite , however, as the drop top carries a moderate premium.

The top can convert from closed to open, and the reverse, in just 16 seconds, and is capable of activation at any speed up to 30 miles per hour. That’s helpful for getting the top back up when you experience a spring shower in Palm Beach. It also means you can drop the top while you’re tearing out of the driveway of your mid-mod in Palm Springs.

As with pretty much all convertibles, there is a weight penalty for the extra sunshine. Chevrolet hasn’t committed to an exact weight for the convertible yet, but says it is less than 80 extra pounds.

With the convertible model, you won’t get a clear view of the V8 as you do through the rear window of the coupe model. The rear hatch decklid from the coupe has been re-worked into a vented tonneau cover for the convertible. Also unlike the coupe, there is a separate cover for the rear trunk. This allows the top tonneau to be hinged at the rear and the trunk to be hinged at the leading edge, obviously. This means you won’t lose any trunk space when you lower the two-piece hard top, which is a very good thing. Can’t miss that golf game!

The 8th-generation Corvette Convertible will start at $67,495 and should begin shipping to dealerships in late Q1 2020. In the meantime, I’ll drop a bunch of photographs of the car here as soon as Chevrolet releases them to make you dream for the coming of spring.