Of all the parts you can modify on a Corvette—and there are many—the hatch strut braces are pretty low in terms of priority. They’re rarely seen, and modifying them is arguably not all that important. But if you disagree and own a current-generation Corvette, Chevrolet has a pair of glorified accessory ones to sell you for the princely sum of $2,000.
Assigned part number 85599584, these braces, which are basically pillars that the bottoms of the hood struts connect to, were developed in-house by Chevrolet to factory fit-and-finish standards. They’re made out of aluminum, finished in Edge Red, and characterized by an intricate design that incorporates the famous crossed flags logo. Chevy claims that they add “a show-quality, distinctive appearance” to the engine compartment by replacing those boring, old, functional factory strut supports.
That’s it, though. They won’t make your ‘Vette faster, more powerful, or even lighter—they’ll just draw more eyeballs to the engine bay. Maybe.
It’s a cool part on its own, but is it $2,000 gorgeous? Holy hell, that’s expensive. If you’ve got about $2,000 to drop on a random accessory for your Corvette, you could buy a Carbon Flash Metallic-painted rear spoiler, various exterior stripes, or side skirt extensions for less. Alternatively, $2,000 can get you a set of track tires and a day’s worth of behind-the-wheel fun at a race track. You can also buy a whole car that runs for $2,000.
The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that the strut braces are on sale for precisely $1,516.20 until November 10. If you want them, keep in mind that they’re designed to fit the coupe variants of the Stingray, E-Ray, and Z06, but they’re not compatible with convertibles.
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