Fastest Corvette ever is the new all-wheel-drive gas-electric hybrid

DETROIT — The fastest Corvette ever made comes out later this year, and it’s not powered solely by a howling V8.

The E-ray is a gas electric hybrid, the first all-wheel-drive version of Chevrolet’s storied sports car with the front wheels running on an electric motor the traditional 6.2-liter V8 powering the back.

Aimed at affluent buyers who want new technology in the top-line Chevrolet sports car, the $104,000 E-ray jerks your head back as it goes from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. General Motors says it can cover a quarter mile in 10.5 seconds.

Although those figures are slightly faster than its race trackready brothers, the Z06 and Z07, it’s civil enough for the daily commute even though its rear tires are almost wide enough to compete in the Indianapolis 500.

Tadge Juechter, the Corvette’s executive chief engineer, said people would ask for the best version of the car, only to wind up a “track monster” that they’re trying to drive every day. “For the same money you can get all-wheeldrive, and comfort, security and the livability that comes with a car like this,” he said. “We’ve really divided the family into pure track and to everyday utility.”

The E-ray, which is being unveiled 70 years after the Corvette was introduced, is a step toward an all-electric version of the car that will come out at at unspecified date.

Although GM may be over-selling the practicality, the E-ray does come with all-season tires so it can be driven year-round, and the all-wheel-drive system is configured so it’s confident in the snow, up to just 4 inches due to its low ground clearance.

“This is going to propel the Corvette to a new set of markets,” said Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of automotive for the consulting firm Alixpartners.

This version of the Corvette, code named “C9,” may be the last one to have a gasoline engine, in light of GM’S plans to sell only electric passenger vehicles by 2035, Abuelsamid said. But he sees this version evolving at least through the end of the decade.

The 1.9 kilowatt-hour battery gets energy restored from regenerative braking and from the V8 motor. It can be driven in “stealth mode” up to 45 mph for about 2 miles to quietly leave a neighborhood, GM says.

The E-ray will hit showrooms during the second half of this year as a 2024 model, GM said.