Corvette E-Ray will bow next Tuesday with an all-electric “Stealth” mode
The upcoming launch of an all-wheel-drive, hybrid C8 has been one of Team Corvette’s worst-kept secrets. The E-Ray name was discovered ages ago, and spy photos keep popping up. Then there was the configurator leak just a month back, and more spy shots confirmed the look. Finally, thanks to an Instagram post by Corvette, we now know that we’ll get to see the full hybrid Corvette package on January 17, which is also when we can expect select members of the media to get their first in-person looks and ride-alongs.
So what can we glean from this short video? Well, the snowy location provides a big hint that it’s AWD but the real solid info comes from the soundtrack that’s split between a V-8 growl and the near silence of electric-only propulsion, backed up by a shot of the driver switching between “Stealth” and “Normal” modes to trigger that transition. The Corvette’s center screen displays the modes with a profile photo of the E-Ray and a line in the back of each mode that seems to depict a sound wave. The subdued nature of that sound wave visual in “Stealth” mode seems to imply that there’s much more than just a V-8 powertrain and a variable exhaust that can keep things hush-hush. Indeed, the video leaves little doubt that the E-Ray will be capable of electric-only propulsion.
Now that we have just one more week before the reveal, the time for speculation about the E-Ray is almost over and our myriad questions about the model will soon be answered. What is the battery capacity? What is the electric-only range? Most importantly for many of us, just how much power and performance will be added by those nose-mounted motors driving the front wheels? Since there are no concrete details, we’re wondering if the 83-hp Ultium motor that was revealed almost a year and a half ago will make an appearance up front or if Chevrolet has managed to keep a more special-purpose electric propulsion system under wraps this whole time. A pair of those small Ultium motors would make for a 660-hp AWD hybrid that would have plenty of electric-only grunt to pull the C8 along without help from the 6.2-liter LT2 V-8. What’s more, that sort of power would slot the E-Ray in just below 670-hp Z06, although we don’t recommend thinking of the two as direct competitors within the Corvette family.
What do you think, will the E-Ray’s total horsepower come in under or over the 670 hp of the current Z06?
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Well, since the base model makes basically 500 and the Z06 makes 670, 600hp seems to split the difference nicely. A 600hp, AWD, electrified Corvette that will probably still get 30mpg+ on the freeway using ICE power (or a combo of ICE and EV) and some nominal battery-only range is a very tempting proposal…
I see this car doing well. I hope they do not call it E Ray. I think the promotion of the Hybrid line may hurt more than help with those who have closed minds.
Hybrid also reeks of anti sports car ideas if purist.
It should be a Grand Sport with AWD. Once people drive it they will get the idea what this is for. It is not to save the planet. It is to get more traction and to slowly bring EV to the Corvette line. To do that it needs to be done like boiling frogs and you turn up the hear a little at a time.
Interestingly, Stealth also works in reverse so there’s no need to fire up the V-8 to silently back out of your garage.