The mid-engine 2020 C8 Corvette won't arrive by the end of 2019, a Chevrolet spokesman confirmed Wednesday.

The highly anticipated sports car, which was originally slated to reach owners' hands at the end of the year, will be delayed until next year due to the work stoppage at GM plants that lasted six weeks. Chevrolet spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed to Motor Authority that the 2020 Corvette will begin production in February.

Cars should arrive to buyers shortly after.

Production of the C7 Corvette will continue for a few more weeks, including the last production front-engine C7 Corvette that fetched $2.7 million at auction. The production plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky will temporarily close after those few remaining Corvettes are built and begin retooling and retraining with C8 production starting sometime in February.

Chevy's consumer site lists "early 2020" as the date for deliveries, and the automaker began accepting orders for the new C8 early this year. Production of the C8 Corvette Convertible was slated to begin in early 2020 but it's unclear if production of that model has now been pushed back as well.

This story is developing and will be updated.