I must confess that I’m a bit of a Chev Corvette fan and have been since a little boy, which basically is for many years, as the first Corvette was released in 1953. I’m particularly a fan of the ‘Stingrays’ and love the fact that the Corvette has its own logo, with no visual association to General Motors, which is apparently because “the Corvette represents not just Chevrolet, but an entire idea and sector of American auto history and tradition”.
If you’re also a Corvette fan, you may like this Motortrend article “Corvette ZR1: Everything You Need to Know About the Fastest Corvette Ever”, which is a great overview of the iconic Chevrolet Corvette ZR that was first released in 1970 as a performance version of the C3 Corvette Stingray.
But recent exciting news from Corvette was initially rumoured in mid-2022 when anonymous sources revealed that GM will shift Corvette into a sub-brand of its own, and then in December 2022 Chevrolet officially announced that Corvette will become a stand-alone brand in 2025, complete with all-new performance-based electric vehicles. In recent reports, instead of one electric Corvette, apparently there will be multiple different styles including an EV crossover, a four-door coupe option, and a lift back sedan. I guess watch this space with all that!
So, it’s not surprising that there’s currently a lot of hype around the release of the new Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray; an all-wheel drive, hybrid supercar which combines the standard Stingray’s 6.2-litre V8 engine powering the rear wheels with an electric motor driving the front wheels, to make it the quickest Corvette in history.
Helped by its all-wheel drive system, the E-Ray is the quickest accelerating Corvette with a reported 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and it’s hybrid system is more traditional like the Toyota Rav 4 (and for that matter the original Toyota Prius), when it was launched to the world back in 2001. This means that it can’t be plugged in, with the battery only being charged using the engine or when energy is captured under braking.
This drive.com.au article by Alex Misoyannis takes a closer look at the Chevrolet E-Ray when it was first announced in 2023:
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray revealed, confirmed for Australia – drive.com.au
According to reports, Australia-bound production of the E-Rays is expected to commence mid this year with the cars on showroom floors later in the year, and although prices have yet to be officially announced, it’s expected to be north of $250,000.
The official Chevrolet website Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray gives a closer look at the car and its features, including a great video package of the car in action.