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American sports car supplements mid-mounted V8 with electric motor in E-Ray hybrid form

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Ten years ago, you would have been given pretty favourable odds on the next Corvette being not only mid-engined but hybridised and with four-wheel drive. Yet here we are.

The Corvette E-Ray has already been on sale in the US for a couple of years and has now arrived in the UK, where it occupies the mid-point of the line-up, sitting between the slim-hipped Stingray and the escaped racing car that is the Z06. All three versions can be had in right-hand drive, too – a big development.

Serious hybrid performance cars are no longer remarkable, of course: Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin all make at least one. But there’s something a little more curious about a ripsnorting American icon leaning into electrication, as well as the nannyish effects of a driven front axle.

Does either element actually improve the driving experience? Or might it ruin it? Or is this just a forgettable toe in the EV water? Let's find out.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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Unlike the posher Ferrari SF90 Stradale and Lamborghini Revuelto, the Corvette E-Ray is not a plug-in hybrid, and neither does it feature multiple electric motors. 

It splits its powertrain by axle. At the rear, it uses the same LT2 pushrod ‘small-block' V8 that powers the regular Stingray and turns the back wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. At the front is a single compact AC electric motor that can add 160bhp and up to 125lb ft of torque, fed by a compact 1.9kWh battery pack that sits in the tunnel between the seats. 

Selecting the Charge+ setting in Track mode will reduce the rate at which the battery discharges but will increase lap times by about 4%. Using Track without Charge+ will consume the battery in, typically, less than five minutes to maximise performance.

That isn’t enough capacity to make it worth having a dedicated EV setting once you’re on the move, although it is possible to start the E-Ray in Stealth mode and travel the first four or miles in silence. Neither is it quite enough, according to Corvette Racing Le Mans driver turned road-car development gun Oliver Gavin, to augment with full electric boost the efforts of the 475bhp engine for a full hot lap of the Nordschleife.

However, on the road, unless you’re running hard from the feds, the battery will be scavenging energy from braking recuperation and the engine to ensure bouts of fullthrottle always delivers the car's grand total of 634bhp.

By performance hybrid standards, it is a very simple system, but it still punts the kerb weight of the Corvette up considerable. At 1907kg, the E-Ray is a disappointing 252kg heavier than the Stingray, although some of that gain is down to the hybrid’s widebody chassis and larger wheel-andtyre package (shared with the Z06). Believe it or not, the E-Ray’s 345-section rear contact patch is equal to that of the Revuelto.

Because of the motor and driveshafts, there’s also more unsprung mass up front than in any other Corvette, albeit partly mitigated by the E-Ray’s standard-fit carbon-ceramic brakes. As for all C8-generation Corvettes, magnetorheological dampers control double wishbones at both ends. The preceding C7’s leaf springs feel like ancient history. 

INTERIOR

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The E-Ray's cabin is similar to that of the regular Stingray, albeit without the new centre-console architecture and additional display that US-market cars get. Percieved quality is also high: leathers are soft but taut and optional carbonfibre trim is beautifully integrated. Anybody with decades-old preconceived notions (justfied, admittedly) about how a Corvette feels inside is in for a shock with the C8. 

The E-Ray gets new digital display options to show the drive battery status and how much power is going to each end but, beyond that, the only significant change is a small button next to the driver’s right knee for the Charge+ mode, which replenishes the battery at the highest possible rate. 

It retains the Stingray's dinky little 'frunk' - it's a fairly practical offering by mid-engined standards.

Because the C8 was designed with electrification in mind, it hasn’t brought packaging compromises. Luggage space is effectively identical: Chevrolet quotes a 1.8-litre reduction in the volume of the compartment behind the engine (just like in the Alpine A110 and Maserati MC20). 

The E-Ray does shares the same ergonomic frustrations as the regular car, though, including a high seating position and the ridge of tiny, hard-to-see buttons that separates driver and passenger (something the US-spec cabin update has done away with). Equally, those who prefer their climate controls to be via physical buttons and switches will prefer the pre-update design.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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The colourful gauge on the central display, which shows how much electrical energy the powertrain is dispensing or recuperating in real time, illustrates what your synapses are telling you: that the E-Ray wears its hybridisation lightly.

The car cruises in rear-driven V8 mode, old-school style. Take it easy, sticking to languid Tour mode, and the only real difference between E-Ray and regular Stingray is the former’s marginally heavier steering and a sliver more inertia as direction changes unfold. In truth, it’s not all that compelling.

There's no electrical assistance beyond 150mph, when the weight becomes ballast up to the car's 180mph top speed.

Things get more interesting when you rotate the central (and, like much of this cabin, surprisingly expensive-feeling) mode controller around to Sport or Track and begin to explore more of the accelerator pedal’s travel. This is an atmospheric engine, so a good level of responsiveness is to be expected, but even with that in mind, the E-Ray kicks on very crisply indeed. 

This powertrain doesn’t thwack you with torque, though. The delivery of electrical assistance is largely proportional to the efforts of the engine. You only really get the beans at the front axle when you’re also getting the same at the back, at which point the E-Ray is stunningly quick, with a speaker-induced wail at high revs that neither of the pure petrol Corvettes have. Silly? Yes, but acceptable in a way that European rivals couldn’t pull off.

While the E-Ray has an EV-only mode, this will be little used. It has to be selected before the ignition is turned fully on, and performance is limited to a mere 45mph, with less than five miles of range. As its Stealth mode name suggests, it is intended as a sneak-away option to avoid disturbing neighbours.

RIDE & HANDLING

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If the powertrain is intuitive, the same is true of the handling. Traction is fantastic and the balance is as per any purely rear-driven Corvette, only with 10% more stability and confidence and a suboptimal surfaces and unpredictable roads. From this, relative to the Stingray, you then need to subtract a bit of transparency in the steering, 5% from ride quality and some mid-corner poise.

Is it worth it for the owner who lives in sunny climes and uses their car sparingly? Possibly not. But for those Northern Europeans who want to do several thousand miles a year including a big trip to Alps, the E-Ray’s compelling development in the Corvette story. It feels like something of an 'unlock'.

The E-Ray keeps the same dynamic modes as the regular Stingray: Tour, Sport, Track and Weather (for slippery conditions), plus a configurable My Mode and a Z setting, which brings up a shortcut screen to tweak individual chassis and powertrain settings on the fly.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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The E-Ray is yours for £153,440 – a little more than you will pay for the new ‘T-Hybrid’ 911 Carrera 4 GTS, with the Porsche’s optional carbon-ceramic brakes equalising the pricing. There’s a scarcity of other rivals – not that any would make a difference, because most E-Ray buyers will be set on that Corvette charisma. That they can now have it with some gentle electrication yielding unprecedented real-world pace and usability has to be a good thing.

At the base of the there is the Stingray 3LT at £105,890, while the top-ranking Z06 costs £182,920. The E-Ray you see here is fitted with carbonfibre wheels (£9460) and several thousand pounds of aesthetic carbonfibre.

Where have we seen a left-field, mid-engined hybrid with four-wheel drive and GT undertones before? The Honda NSX of 2016. The E-Ray is less complex and more engaging

There is also the fact that the Corvette – in Stingray, E-Ray and Z06 guises – now comes in RHD for the first time. There will be dealers in Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and naturally Shrewsbury, and all models come with a 62,000 'bumper to bumper' warranty. What Chevrolet hasn't done is roll some of the scheduled servicing costs into the buying price, as has become increasing common in the supercar sphere.

As for fuel economy, the E-Ray isn't going to say you much money here – not that anybody buys a hybrid performance for the economy. Don't expect more than the high 20s at a cruise and considerably less if you want to uncork that 6.2-litre V8.

VERDICT

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In the US, much of the marketing message behind the E-Ray is pushing its virtues as an all-wheel-drive sports car for those parts of the country with harsh winters. 

But electrification has also brought both a new level of performance and, for those not chasing ultimate lap times, a broader dynamic appeal to this celebrated old sports car.

For UK buyers too, the E-Ray feels like the Corvette to have.

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat.