2024 Corvette E-Ray boosts V8 to 655PS with hybrid power

We’ll touch on design quickly as it’s exactly as expected: A mix of Stingray exhaust placement and Z06 everything else, with the option of lots of body colour where once there was black, to give the E-Ray its own style. Plenty of badges serve as a giveaway too.

Right, what about the oily bits, or rather, the zappy bits? As has been known for a while, the E-Ray takes the 6.2-litre pushrod V8 from the Stingray and adds an electric motor at the front. What we now know is exact figures: 655PS (482kW) overall, combining both the 495PS V8 and a 160PS electric motor at the front wheels.

The battery is tiny at 1.9kWh and is located between the seats in the cabin. The E-Ray is not a plug-in hybrid, with Chevrolet claiming it recharges itself sufficiently quickly for it to not be needed. It’s also claimed it’ll never deplete fully, with a safety buffer ensuring the car can always give drive to the front wheels where needed.

The context of the hybridity is performance, rather than its eco credentials. This is after all the most accelerative Corvette yet, getting to 60mph in just 2.5 seconds. As for the sound? There’s a lot of the traditional V8, with a very sci-fi overlay that we think is quite cool now, but will probably feel a bit gimmicky once the novelty has worn off.

In spite of the small battery, the new Stealth Mode does allow all-electric start-up and driving up to 45mph and for three or four miles only. Short but ultimately, expected, given it’s one-fiftieth the size of the largest EV batteries on the market. 

The upshot of that is that all the associated componentry with the addition of hybrid power adds up to just 104kg, with most of it low down too. The Corvette E-Ray Coupe and Convertible have dry respective weights of 1,712kg and 1,749kg. Those are just 25kg and 17kg heavier respectively than the stated dry weights of the new Z06, with which the E-Ray shares the widened body. That’s helped in part by the lightweight carbon brakes that come as standard, alongside a lightweight Li-Ion 12-volt battery.

Another lightweight option is the carbon wheels of the Z06 too, while Mag Ride 4.0 comes as standard. Chevrolet claims the E-Ray will still drive well with a rear bias, thanks to how the e-AWD is calibrated. In fact, the claim is that hybridity was the easiest and most lightweight solution in the pursuit of the main goal, which was adding an AWD option to the Corvette range.

E-Ray drivers will be able to track and manage the outputs of the two powertrains via the E-Ray Performance App in the infotainment system. Gauges for real-time outputs, Dyno gives outputs over time and Data shows performance and efficiency.

The tiny impact the addition of hybrid power has is perhaps best seen in the front trunk, which has more or less the same space as a non-hybrid, rear-drive Corvette.

So what about the price? Corvettes are famed for their good value and electrified vehicles are famously expensive. Can the two mesh? Apparently yes, with the E-Ray starting in the US from just $104,295. Converted at the time of writing, that’s £84,734, or to put it another way, £5,000 less than what a Porsche 911 starts at in the UK. Not only have they beat the 911 to the hybridised punch and done so with a minimal weight penalty, they’ve undercut the entire non-hybrid 911 range. Maybe we should finally start taking Corvettes seriously on this side of the pond…