Corvette’s E-Ray Is a ‘Super GT’ Rather Than an All-Out Supercar
Knowing where the E-Ray stands in the Corvette hierarchy helps establish its place in the stable.
Putting the engine in the middle of the car was a wild departure from the norm for Corvette traditionalists. So adding all wheel drive and electric power is almost alien. Has the Corvette been eroded from its former self? We don’t think so. Because the purpose of a Corvette is to be fast. And 2.5 seconds to 60 miles per hour is crazy fast.
But weirdly, Corvette has decided to soften things up for the E-Ray. YouTube channel Savage Geese has done a deep-dive into all the tech behind the E-Ray. And what they have discovered is that the E-Ray justifies the existence of the Z06 and upcoming ZR1. Their logic? A fast Corvette for everyone.
Trevor Hall, Corvette’s Program Engineering Manager, explains the E-Ray’s hybrid power is “purley for performance reasons, not for any emissions or any other benefit.” 655 horsepower with of benefits. So why did Corvette make it intentionally soft? Because you’ll want to drive it every day.
The hybrid tech doesn’t mean it is here to clean up the air. Instead it is meant to deploy 160 horsepower through the front wheels to make it more tractable. It was even developed with all-season tires in order to make it more capable in more weather conditions than any Corvette before it. Even the setup is meant to deploy more from the all-wheel-drive setup. That’s why it’s softer, intentionally.
If you pick the Z06 or ZR1, you already know that you’re getting into a no-nonsense no frills car. So it stands to benefit that the Corvette can also be a great GT car which is comfortable and good all year round. No Corvette has been able to do it, so why not the most technologically sophisticated model?
You still get the LT2 V8, which on its own is responsible for 495 of the total 655 horsepower. And you get the V8 rumble, too. But you also get the additional sound of an electric motor doing its best to hurl you towards the horizon. So the E-Ray is meant for a very specific kind of enthusiast. But is it meant for us? It just might be.
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