Hybrid and Corvette. It goes together like chocolate and anchovies…
It’s all change with America’s sports car in recent years, first it went mid-engine after seven generations and now they’ve gone and created the first hybrid model. It’s an unlikely pairing, to be sure, but we’ve just had our first experience of this radical new model and have come away shocked.
The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, to give it its official title, has just landed in Australia and General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) gave Torquecafe a chance to experience it at Sandown Raceway.
READ MORE: Chevy’s new Corvette arrives in Oz
At first glance, sitting in the pitlane, it doesn’t look too much different to the ‘standard’ Corvette Stingray (at least compared to the new Z06 we also drove on the same day), but closer attention reveals some key differences. For starters, all local examples of the E-Ray come equipped with the ZER Performance Package, which brings a taller spoiler wicker as well as Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
Take another look and you may notice that the E-Ray is actually slightly wider (90mm) than the Stingray, to help fit that bigger rubber.
Look even closer and you’ll notice the unique E-Ray badge that adorns the flanks of this special Corvette, marking it out as something special. The example we drove was finished in grey with blue stripes down the centre, which is a nice colour scheme that suits the angular lines of the eighth generation ‘Vette.
READ MORE: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 confirmed for Australia
That’s the cosmetic details out of the way, after more than a year of waiting I was keen to jump behind the wheel and drive the E-Ray in anger. Driving out of pitlane you don’t immediately feel any major differences, yes, the electric motor helps get you away, but there’s still the rumble from the V8 engine.
Once you reach the first corner, however, the differences between the E-Ray and Stingray become dramatically apparent. One of the highlights of the C8 Corvette is its very light and direct front end. The steering is fast and direct, leading to a feeling of ‘pointiness’ that is highly desirable in a sports car.
The E-Ray does not possess this same trait.
Instead, it feels heavy and much slower at the front because it has an electric motor and drivetrain sitting underneath its nose. It’s not unbearably heavy, just dramatically different and enough to change the character of C8 in many respects.
Guiding the E-Ray through the first sector of Sandown is a real eye-opening experience, with the quick change of direction between turns two and three, and then the sharp turn four, all highlighting this new trait of the car.
However, the other new element of the E-Ray soon becomes apparent when you hit the back straight. The electric motor may have added some weight but it has also brought with it 119kW of power, which combines with the 369kW 6.2-litre V8 to make a combined total output of 488kW and 806Nm.
That’s a seriously impressive level of performance and it feels every kilowatt of that down the back straight at Sandown. It pulls hard and just keeps pulling all the way until you run out of bravery at the other end of the straight and need to guide it through the sweeping bends that guide you into the slow and sharp Dandenong Road corner.
The last segment of the track is a chance for another element of the E-Ray to shine – its low speed traction. The trade-off for the heavier front end is all-wheel drive traction out of the slower corners that complete the lap, allowing you to fire out of the bends with more ferocity and unleash the complex powertrain’s immense performance.
GMSV claims the E-Ray can sprint 0-100km/h in just 2.9 seconds, and based on this initial experience I believe it. It feels properly supercar quick.
We’ll reserve full and final judgement until we can get the E-Ray on the road, but this initial run is proof that Chevrolet has added the electric motor for performance more than anything else. If your concern is that it has diluted the Corvette and made it some sort of Toyota Prius-rivalling, environment saving machine, you’ll be pleased to know you’re wrong.
It’s certrainly less shocking than my chocolate and achovies anology at the start, perhaps more like chocolate and red wine – a favourite for some, but not to everyone’s taste.
Personally, I’m less convinced that it’s place is on the racetrack, so I look forward to a longer, more diverse run in this new take on an American classic.
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