Corvette’s battery-fed era kicks off with epic acceleration. It’s NZ-bound.

HOW to compensate for the shock of Chevrolet’s Corvette going electric? Give it lots of awe.

Whatever old-school purists feel about America's pre-eminent sports car now requiring batteries to continue a previous V8-pure approach and also adopting four-wheel-drive, they won’t be able ignore the upside of the new E-Ray, finally unveiled overnight as a first step toward a fully electric Corvette before 2035.

With 0-100kmh in 2.5 seconds claimed, the model unveiled exactly 70 years since the original Corvette was shown is the fastest accelerating production version of a model that these days is all about speed.

The 119kW/170Nm front-mounted electric motor and mid-set 370kW LT2 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 provide 482kW/639Nm in total - falling slightly short of the C8 Z06 model on power and the monstrous 555kW C7 ZR1 – yet it is quicker than both to the legal open road limit.

When might it touch New Zealand turf? General Motors Speciality Vehicles, which looks after this country and Australia, has this morning confirmed the model is coming, but not when. In exclusive comment to this site, a local spokesman said: “It is with great excitement that we can confirm that the next-gen Corvette, the E-Ray, will make its way Down Under. Stay tuned for more details.”

Though it was announced in April 2021, New Zealand has been taking the standard C8 for just over a year now, with pricing spanning from $170,000 to $200,000, but supply out of the Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant has been challenged and fewer than three dozen NZ-new examples are thought to be here.

As E-Ray production won’t start until later this year, the car won’t even get its passport until 2024.

In the meantime, there’s opportunity to learn all about the drivetrain.

The e-motor is powered by a 1.9kWh battery pack, which can't be charged with a plug - instead, the battery pack, mounted in a tunnel that runs between the two seats, is charged as the car slows and brakes and, at times, while the car drives.

General Motors has not shared fuel economy estimates for the E-Ray, but has left impression that the engineering emphasis has been on maximizing performance rather than fuel economy. Yet it can deliver some additional efficiency over the orthodox V8. As with the standard car, the E-Ray can shut off four of its eight cylinders on the move, but is likely to do so more often.

Pure-electric driving is possible under certain low speed conditions, Corvette development engineer Steve Padilla has suggested. In that mode, as required by American safety regulations, the E-Ray produces a sound — a low, oscillating whirr — through external speakers.

A selection of six drive modes, including Tour, Track and a configurable My Mode setting, dictate the car’s deployment of electric power, while an additional Stealth Mode allows silent EV running when starting a journey.

For race track driving, the hybrid system can be set for maximum short-term performance, allowing the lithium battery to use up most of its charge in a lap or two, or for more conservative, lap-after-lap use. The car will maintain a certain minimal state of charge in case it needs to use the electric motor to help pull out of a skid, for instance. In general, though, the E-Ray isn’t seen as a track car – Padilla says that’s more what the Z06 is for. The E-Ray is intended as a car for fast street driving and long road trips.

Packaging the drivetrain wasn’t too much of a headache as The current generation car was engineered from the outset with hybrid in mind.

Due to the battery and motor hardware, the E-Ray’s 1712kg dry weight exceeds the standard car’s figure by 110kg. To compensate, Chevrolet’s engineers have fitted carbon ceramic brakes and the firm’s Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 suspension as standard, the latter of which is likely to adopt a bespoke tune.

GM product planners and engineers have indicated the kilo count was a reason why the car isn’t a plug-in hybrid. Adding a charging port and additional cables and electronics to the car would have also added even more weight, according to Steve Majoros, marketing director for Chevrolet.

The E-Ray is just over 9cm wider than the base model and a set of staggered 20- and 21-inch wheels is bespoke, and can be specified with Michelin Pilot Sport or Pilot Sport 4S tyres. Those 21-inch rear wheels have colossal 345-width rubber.

To distinguish the newcomer as the electrified Corvette, a new Z06-inspired front bumper has been fitted, and the rear end has been restyled to blend with the wider bodyshell. New colours unique to the E-Ray are available too, along with carbon fibre exterior and interior trims.

The E-Ray is an actual sea creature – hence why the car has a ray-shaped badge on the boot lid – but it’s also a play on the Stingray name of the base model.