Electric Chevrolet Corvette due in 2024 – report
Zero-emissions Corvette due in three years, potentially wearing the E-Ray badge.
The iconic Chevrolet Corvette sports car could drop petrol V8 power sooner than initially expected.
American publication Automobile Magazine reports Chevrolet will introduce an all-electric version of the Corvette in 2024, splitting two plug-in hybrid variants due in 2023 and 2025.
While a switch to electric power was inevitable for the American sports-car icon, given parent company General Motors' pledge to drop petrol power in passenger cars and SUVs by 2035, the arrival of a zero-emissions 'Vette so soon comes at a surprise to industry insiders, with the current 'C8' model previously expected to score electrified power in plug-in hybrid form only.
Automobile doesn't provide any details of the electric Corvette's powertrain, however it speculates the model will employ multiple electric motors and a larger battery pack than that fitted to upcoming hybrid variants, with all-wheel-drive seemingly on the cards.
The publication claims pricing will reportedly come in "probably less than the [flagship, petrol-powered] ZR1", a variant which the outlet claims will retail for US$120,000 (AU$155,000) – around twice as expensive as the base Corvette Stingray currently on offer, priced from US$59,995 (AU$77,500).
While a name for the zero-emissions 'Vette has yet to be locked in, it's possible the E-Ray trademark filed and renewed by GM in recent years could be applied to the model, if it isn't used first on a plug-in hybrid variant.
Arriving on either side of the electric sports car are set to be two plug-in hybrids, offering two vastly differing levels of performance.
Due in 2023 is the simply-named C8 'Hybrid', reportedly pairing the lesser, petrol-only Z06's 5.5-litre naturally-aspirated, flat-plane-crank V8 petrol engine with three electric motors – two on the front axle, and one inside the eight-speed transmission – for a total of 578kW of power.
Automobile's claims for the entry-level hybrid contrast those reported by Hagerty in April 2020, which indicated the Stingray's 6.2-litre 'LT2' V8 would be utilised instead, for milder outputs of 447kW and 678Nm.
Sitting atop the range come 2025 will be the flagship Zora, which looks set to attach a pair of turbochargers to the base hybrid's V8, for outputs set to fall between 746kW (1000hp) and 858kW (1150hp) – though a specific figure has yet to be locked in.
It's unclear whether any of the above hybrid or electric variants will make their way to Australia, following the launch of the 'standard' 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Down Under in late 2021.
The news comes less than a month after rumours of an all-electric Corvette SUV sub-brand emerged from sources inside GM.
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