‘Super-charging’ your Corvette has taken on an all-new meaning with Chevrolet unveiling the hybrid-powered E-Ray.
The highly-anticipated addition to the eighth-generation Corvette line-up pairs a petrol engine with an electric motor to create the quickest production version of the car yet. The powertrain combines the standard 6.2-litre V8 engine mounted behind the cabin with a 120kW electric motor mounted at the front and driving the front axles.
Review: 2022 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Stingray
This means a combined output of 396kW of power and 637Nm of torque as well as all-wheel drive traction - or eAWD, as Chevrolet has dubbed it. This helps the Corvette E-Ray to hit 0-60mph (0-96km/h) in just 2.5 seconds and run the quarter mile in just 10.5 seconds.
General Motors president (and one-time Holden chief), Mark Reuss unveiled the car in New York this week and said it pushes the iconic muscle car into a new era.
“In 1953, the enthusiastic reaction to the Chevrolet Corvette concept kicked off seven decades of passion, performance and American ingenuity,” Reuss said. “E-Ray, as the first electrified, all-wheel-drive Corvette, takes it a step further and expands the promise of what Corvette can deliver.”
Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet, went a step further, saying the E-Ray opens the car to a new audience.
“Corvette has been a halo for Chevrolet since 1953,” Bell said. “E-Ray’s unprecedented blend of confidence, luxury performance, sophistication and style provides a new reason for more people to experience Corvette.”
The good news for Australian muscle car fans is General Motors Specialty Vehicles has confirmed the E-Ray will join the C8 Stingray and in-coming, high-performance Z06 in the local line-up.
Local pricing and specifications will be revealed closer to launch, which is unlikely to happen before 2024, with the E-Ray hitting US dealerships later this year. But Chevrolet has confirmed that the E-Ray will come standard with Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, standard Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 with three distinct suspension settings and staggered 20- and 21-inch alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.
The E-Ray has some unique tricks thanks to its electric motor, most notably a so-called ‘Stealth Mode’. This is when the car runs on electric power alone (effectively making it a front-wheel drive Corvette!) for short periods at speeds up to 70km/h.
And this is only the beginning for an electrified Corvette future, with an all-electric version already confirmed by the brand. Which means even in a future world of all-electric cars, the Corvette is guaranteed to live on.
.jpg&q=70&h=226&w=176&c=1&s=1)
