The E-Ray is Chevrolet’s first electrified Corvette. Soon, a Corvette Zora will debut with what we’re confident will be a high-powered hybrid powertrain. But the question remains: Will the Corvette ever go fully electric? As far as Chevy is concerned, not unless the company sees a real need.
In an interview with CBS News, Corvette’s new Chief Engineer, Tony Roma, said an electric Corvette would only make sense if it improved the Corvette’s performance, or if customers demanded it. And as of right now, neither of those things appear to be true.
“We talk about this a lot. I talk about this with enthusiasts, my friends, other engineers,” said Roma. “We’re not going to apply electrification just for the sake of it. We don’t put technology on for technology’s sake, so it kind of has to earn its way in. It has to make the car better in some way that our customers are gonna respond to.”
CEO Mary Barra seconded that statement. She told CBS News: “We’ll be guided by the consumer, but the plans we have will get us there.”
Even with EV enthusiasm waning, Chevrolet still wants its lineup to be fully electric by 2035. That would almost certainly include a battery-powered Corvette—but that’s still over 10 years off. But while a Corvette EV isn’t on the table yet, the high-powered Zora hybrid should be here as early as next year.
Spy photos and videos show the new hybrid Corvette Zora testing on the Nurburgring. The prototypes in question were spotted with yellow high-voltage stickers (mandatory on the ‘Ring for battery-powered vehicles) and design elements similar to the E-Ray. If we’re lucky, it could have more than 1,200 horsepower.
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