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.
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.
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