The 2024 Chevy Corvette E-Ray hybrid revealed
General Motors Co on Tuesday revealed a new, hybrid Corvette sports car that uses an electric motor and battery to amp up acceleration and go in the snow.
The Corvette E-Ray will use a 12-volt lithium-ion battery and a 160-horsepower electric motor to drive the front wheels. A 495-horsepower, gasoline-fueled V-8 engine will drive the back wheels as in other Corvettes. GM said the hybrid system will accelerate the E-Ray to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, A quarter-mile run is likewise achieved in just 10.5 seconds. making it the quickest production Corvette ever, even hastier than the Z06, at least according to General Motors, GM said.
Despite this incredible performance, the E-Ray does not plug into an external charger. Energy for the hybrid system is provided by regeneration during coasting and braking as well as direct charging by the engine during regular driving. This is possible because the battery is a small 1.9-kWh lithium-ion pack located in the car's structural tunnel between the seats. This battery plus the electric motor on the front axle means the E-Ray coupe weighs 3,774 pounds—340 pounds more than a Z07-equipped Z06.
Fuel Economy
There's one stat that's notably missing for any hybrid, no matter how ferocious: fuel economy. Presumably, the E-Ray will be more efficient than the standard Stingray, but Chevy hasn't given those numbers yet. But we should have them soon, as the car goes on sale soon.
The Corvette E-Ray is a traditional hybrid, not a plug-in, so any sort of electric-only range will be small. Chevy estimates between three and five miles on electricity alone, at which point the V-8 will bark to life. While that's not enough to do much, it's enough to quietly leave your neighborhood in the E-Ray's unique Stealth mode.
Sales of the Corvette E-Ray start this year. The base price without destination charge (Chevy did not provide that number at the time of writing) is $104,295, so a bit more than that when the destination is added. That puts it at only about $1,000 less than a standard Z06.
The E-Ray is also interesting because it's the first Corvette to offer standard carbon ceramic brakes. They're an option even on the theoretically higher-spec Z06. This arrangement hints at the fact that the E-Ray shakes it up when it comes to the traditional order of Corvette trims. Yes, it's similar to the old Grand Sport level in a few ways, however, it's priced very similar to the Z06 and offers very similar levels of performance. The Z06 starts at $106,395. The E-Ray starts at $104,295. One has 655 horsepower, the other, 670. One goes 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, the other, in 2.6. In other words, you can think of the E-Ray as more of an all-weather, softer-riding alternative to the Z06 as opposed to a regular Stingray with Z06 stuff, as has been the case traditionally.
