2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
The date was January 17, 1953. The location was the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Chevrolet was there to showoff a new sports car at GM’s Motorama event. They named this sports car after a fast warship…you might know it as the Corvette.
Fast forward to January 17, 2023 - and Chevrolet shows off a completely new flavor of their sports car at Rockefeller Center on the famous ice rink. Announcing this version 70 years, to the day, later means that this latest Vette is something the company wants us all to notice.
So, let’s take a look at what they’re up to this time.
What makes this latest model special? Chevrolet just released the Z06 with the most powerful normally aspirated engine the Vette has ever had (indeed the most powerful normally aspirated engine in production). That Corvette is a track monster that takes Chevy’s sports car to places no production Corvette has seen.
So, what makes this new Corvette stand apart?
Well, how about the fastest 0-60 time a Corvette has ever achieved…even faster than that legendary Z06? Well, 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds is on offer (a 10th faster than that Z06). How about making a Corvette that can conquer roads when they get slippery or even snowy? That would be a new feature for a Corvette and the new car has that handled as well.
How did Chevrolet pull this off? They equipped the new Corvette with the model’s first ever all-wheel drive system.
Let that sink in for a moment. For 70 years the Corvette has only put power to pavement using it’s rear tires. For nearly 70 of those years the power for those tires came from a front engine. Now we are looking at a mid-engined sports car with available all-wheel drive. That’s quite the switch for America’s sports car.
But, this isn’t a traditional all-wheel drive system like you might see in other mid-engined exotics like Lamborghini. In this particular case, Chevrolet leveraged the company’s electrification expertise to add a 160hp electric motor to the front axle that is powered by a 1.9kWH battery located down the center of the car (to maintain proper weight distribution.) That electric powertrain combines with the C8’s 495hp 6.2L V-8 to create an all-weather Corvette packing a total of 655hp in a package with new tricks no Vette has ever possessed..
They’ve christened this variation the E-Ray. This fits in with the other electrified models Chevrolet has shown recently where they never skip an opportunity to highlight an ‘E’ in the name. In this case, they had to add an E to the model designation to get there.
The E-Ray does get a unique front end that is less aggressive than other models. Likely this is to improve aerodynamics. Offsetting this is the fact Chevrolet gave the E-Ray the wide and aggressive rear fenders , and air intakes that debuted on the Z06. It’s a good look on the C8, no matter the powertrain.
Adding an electric motor has allowed Chevrolet to add another couplel features. For one, the electric propulsion is used to extend the range of conditions where the Vette’s can keep the big V-8 running on 4-cylinders. That should allow the E-Ray to sport some impressive economy numbers when Chevrolet announces them.
Another trick up the E-Ray’s sleeve is something Chevrolet is calling ‘Stealth Mode.’ When this is activated, the E-Ray can drive in electric-only mode at up to 45mph. The small batter capacity likely means this won’t mean a long range in this mode, but certainly enough to quietly get underway when a rumbly V-8 might wake the neighbors.
The E-Ray will go on sale later this year. Starting price $104295 for the coupe, $111295 for the convertible.
Once we know more, we’ll let you know how this changes the Corvette’s personality and if it would be worth such high prices.