The first electrified Chevrolet Corvette has made its public world debut at the New York motor show, having notched up a two-year waiting list due to its popularity.
The new ‘Vette, which matches a roaring 6.2-litre V8 petrol engine with an electric motor, is also the first ever to receive four-wheel-drive and is the fastest-accelerating yet.
Named the Corvette E-Ray, the long-awaited hybrid supercar was revealed back in January this year. Its appearance in New York this month marks 70 years since the original Corvette took to the stage for its debut at the Motorama exhibition, which was held in the city in 1953.
It has been conceived “to be the Corvette owners can arrive in anywhere, no matter the season”, highlighting the increased traction of a driven front axle and the option of a removable roof.
Chevrolet also claimed it's the first sports car to pair a naturally aspirated V8 with an electric motor. Direct rivals are few and far between, but the Ferrari 296 GTB and McLaren Artura each use twin-turbocharged V6 engines for their hybrid powertrains, and the Ferrari SF90’s electrified V8 is blown as well.
The V8 in question is the same 6.2-litre small-block that powers the standard Chevrolet Corvette Stingray - revolutionary in its own right for making the switch from a front- to mid-engined layout.
In the E-Ray, its 495bhp and 470lb ft of torque (sent to the rear axle through an eight-speed automatic gearbox) is supplemented by 160bhp and 125lb ft from the electric motor at the front, giving a combined 655bhp.
This makes the hybrid the fastest Corvette to yet make production, with Chevrolet claiming a 0-60mph time of just 2.5sec and saying it can cover a quarter-mile in just over 10.5sec.
That makes the E-Ray roughly as quick in a straight line as the Ferrari 296 GTB, yet it's about a third of the price of Maranello's latest hybrid, at $104,295 (£85,000).
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Very impressive indeed is this instead of the ZR-1 or is that still to come
745kW ZR-1 still to come :-)
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Not knocking this Corvette, but the two year wait time is more a function of low volume production coupled with smart speculators rather than 'overwhelming' demand from owners. And so no, a world recession will not make much difference.