How much does Barbie's dream Corvette cost in real life?

She is everything. We are just obsessed! The new Barbie movie is painting the world pink, and you can't escape it. A certain pink Corvette is also grabbing the automotive world's attention and cruising to new heights in the secondary car market. So, is the Barbie car modeled after a real-life convertible? Where can you get one, and how much does it cost? Way.com answers the question: What would it cost to really have one of your very own?

If you prefer a lighter start to Barbenheimer, Greta Gerwig's pink explosion is the right pick over Christopher Nolan's nuke explosion at the cinemas. As the memes and collabs keep coming, it looks like the Barbie team is leaving no stone unturned to promote the movie. They have even managed to grab the attention of car enthusiasts with the iconic Barbie pink Corvette in the trailer. If it makes you curious about Barbie cars, here's more about it:

Get your own Barbie car 

The Barbie Car is a modified C1 Corvette – specifically, the 1958-59 model. You can still own one of these classic cars. For the full experience, get it painted Barbie Pink!  

The average price of a Chevrolet Corvette – C1 (1953 to 1962) is $108,449. The most recent sale of the '58 model was $120,000. The average price of 1958-60 Corvettes is $95,146. A car in excellent condition costs about $89,100 to $124,000 at auctions. 

Now, for the paint job – you'll need a lot of luck finding the exact pink C1 Chevy Corvette. Repainting a classic car will cost anywhere between $2,000 to $10,000 or more, depending on how much work needs to be done. Stripping the old paint, fixing dents or rest, and other bodywork takes many working hours and drives up the cost. 

The Barbie movie 2023 

Though there are older movies based on the iconic Mattel doll, the Greta Gerwig directorial film is the first live-action Barbie movie ever. It is a fantasy comedy starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The star-studded cast includes Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Micheal Cera, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera, Issa Rae, and Nicola Coughlan.  

The new Barbie movie was a long time in the making, with multiple casting and crew changes. But it has paid off: Margot Robbie as Barbie has gained a lot of praise. The movie's promoters have banked on the classic toy's popularity and the quintessential pink theme. As a result, the color (specifically Pantone shade 219) even faced an international shortage.  

Barbie-themed marketing campaigns extend to branding collabs and partnerships. Airbnb is renting a real Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu, Barbiecore is in fashion, and the pinkest billboards have cropped up worldwide. 

Barbie pink Corvette gains interest 

Warner Bros presented the new Barbie movie's first look at CinemaCon 2022, and it showed Margot Robbie as Barbie sitting in a pink Chevrolet Corvette. The poster drove up online searches; secondary market interest in the car also spiked.  

The Barbie pink Corvette is available as a collectible toy car from Mattel. It's a replica of the vintage-inspired convertible from the movie and has working doors, steering, trunk, and wheels. Hot Wheels also released a Barbie-pink remote-controlled Corvette in an official collab with Mattel.

While Mattel's collectible car is a replica of the car that Barbie drives in the movie (a four-seater), the Hot Wheels Barbie car is a toy version of the iconic 1958 Corvette Stingray (a two-seater) that inspired the movie car.  

The Barbie Convertible also made it to a racing game – Xbox Game Studios has it in Forza Horizon 5. Ken's 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup is also available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.  

Barbie cars in the movie 

In the new Barbie movie, Margot Robbie, who plays Stereotypical Barbie, drives a modified Chevrolet C1 Convertible. The car is not new to the Barbie world, but the movie's trailers offer several details that are easy to spot. When Ken and Barbie drive the iconic pink 'vette from Barbie Land to the real world, the car does a barrel roll in the air and lands with no damage. After all, the movie plays out in a human-sized toy world, and everything needs to look perfectly artificial.  

The classic C1 convertible in the movie gets an additional row of seating to accommodate Ken, who joins Barbie on her adventure. But the original '58 Stingray, without a backseat, had room only for two. The neon-pink car has white/chrome bodywork in the movie, with soft-pink leather interiors. The curvy bumper and round headlights match the real-life Chevy.  

The Barbie Corvette has a flat panel as the dashboard; the gauges and buttons are just stickers. You can also see the Chevrolet logo on a side panel near the front fender. Behind-the-scenes footage shows the car moving without a dolly track, so it's likely to be a working model with a small electric motor or remote-controlled.  

The other Barbies in the 2023 movie – who play Stereotypical Barbie's friends – also have Corvettes in other colors. Ken has a gray convertible with flame decals on the side.   

A real Barbie dream Corvette 

Margot Robbie posed with the car during the movie's press tour. The classic C1 in Barbie pink was also on display in Las Vegas at the Licensing Expo 2023. It has the original fuel flap, 4-speed manual gear, and two exhaust tips, but no extra back seat like the movie version.  

The modified C1 Chevrolet Corvette used in the 2023 Barbie movie has many variations from the classic '58 model that serves as its inspiration. The movie prop is much smaller than the 177.2-inch-long classic Stingray. You'll also see Barbie going hands-free as she drives around Barbie Land and waves to her friends – so, the movie car could be autonomous, unlike the real-world model.  

Barbie cars over the years 

The classic pink Chevy Corvette is Barbie's most popular car, but did you know that the doll drove an Austin-Healy when the toy car line first came out in 1962? The now-famous Corvette came around in the 1970s and is widely known as the Malibu Barbie convertible.  

An avid car collector, Barbie has many more vehicles than the 1958 Chevy Corvette-inspired pink Barbie car. Porsche 911 Cabriolet, Mercedes-Benz 190SL, Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible, Ferrari 328 GTS, Volkswagen Beetle, and Fiat 500 are a few other models in the Barbie car world. Mattel's Barbie car collection includes campers, pickup trucks, and other vehicles.  

Mattel's collabs with the automotive industry have also led to real-world models inspired by Barbie World – check out the Maserati Grecale Barbie, for example. 

FAQs – Barbie Cars & Movies

How many Barbie movies are there? 

There are over 40 Barbie movies covering a wide range of genres and themes. The first Barbie movie, Barbie in the Nutcracker, was released in 2001, and the first live-action Barbie movie releases on July 21, 2023.  

What is the Barbie movie about? 

The 2023 Barbie movie is a satire about the Barbie world, and it is not a traditional kids' movie like previous Barbie movies. In the movie, Barbie goes on an adventure into the real world with Ken and discovers what living among humans is like. 

Can I stream the Barbie movie? 

The Barbie movie was released in theaters on July 21, 2023. The movie is not yet available to stream. However, it will likely be on HBO Max sometime after its theatrical release. Warner Bros. Pictures, the studio distributing the Barbie movie, owns HBO Max. 

Is the new Barbie movie appropriate for kids? 

The new Barbie movie is rated PG-13 for "suggestive references" and "brief language." The movie may contain mature humor and themes that may be inappropriate for children under 13. 

Should I watch Oppenheimer or Barbie? 

If you are interested in historical dramas and war films, you might enjoy Oppenheimer. Barbie might be interesting to those who like comedies and coming-of-age stories. Oppenheimer is rated R, so it is not suitable for younger viewers. Barbie is rated PG-13, which is more suitable for older children and adults. 

What car is in the Barbie movie? 

The car that Barbie drives in the Barbie movie is a modified C1 Chevrolet Corvette. It is finished in neon pink with white and chrome bodywork and features a light-pink leather interior with an extra row of seating. 

This story was produced by Way.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.