First electrified Corvette adds an electric motor on the front axle for Ferrari 296-baiting performance.
The first electrified Chevrolet Corvette has made its public world debut at the New York motor show, having notched up a two-year waiting list due to its popularity. The model has been confirmed to launch in Australia, although with such popularity already its timing is yet to be confirmed.
The new ‘Vette, which matches a roaring 6.2-litre V8 petrol engine with an electric motor, is also the first ever to receive all-wheel-drive and is the fastest-accelerating yet.
Named the Corvette E-Ray, the long-awaited hybrid supercar was revealed back in January this year. Its appearance in New York this month marks 70 years since the original Corvette took to the stage for its debut at the Motorama exhibition, which was held in the city in 1953.
It has been conceived “to be the Corvette owners can arrive in anywhere, no matter the season”, highlighting the increased traction of a driven front axle and the option of a removable roof.
Chevrolet also claimed it’s the first sports car to pair a naturally aspirated V8 with an electric motor. Direct rivals are few and far between, but the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura each use twin-turbocharged V6 engines for their hybrid powertrains, and the Ferrari SF90’s electrified V8 is blown as well.
The V8 in question is the same 6.2-litre small-block that powers the standard Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – revolutionary in its own right for making the switch from a front- to mid-engined layout.
In the E-Ray, its 364kW and 639Nm of torque (sent to the rear axle through an eight-speed automatic transmission) is supplemented by 118kW and 169Nm from the electric motor at the front, giving a combined 482kW.
This makes the hybrid the fastest Corvette to yet make production, with Chevrolet claiming a 0-100km/h time of just 2.5sec and saying it can cover a quarter-mile in just over 10.5sec.
That makes the E-Ray roughly as quick in a straight line as the Ferrari 296 GTB, yet it’s about a third of the price of Maranello’s latest hybrid, at $104,295 (AUD$155,000). Expect the model to carry an increase in that price for Australia.