The Corvette is doing fine now, but it’s going electric

The hybrid E-Ray seems to have been accepted by Corvette fans, but it still has a V8 engine, and future EVs certainly won’t

GM spent more than 50 years hesitating about whether to build a mid-engine Corvette, and now it must be kicking itself for not making the bold decision sooner. The C8 is the first production Corvette to put the V8 behind the seats instead of in front, and it’s been a huge sales success, outselling the front-engined Toyota Supra 12 by a factor of two in the first half of this year.

Some GM executives worry that, rather than scaring off customers, the new model is flocking to the Corvette, and they are also younger. The average age of buyers has dropped from 64 to 55 in the past six years. New York Times Report.

Corvette E-Ray review: All-wheel drive and hybrid power make the Vette even better

Another potentially polarizing Corvette model also seemed to be well received. Fans had a soft spot for the E-Ray, which was not only the first hybrid Corvette but also the first all-wheel drive Corvette.

But will those fans be equally receptive to the next logical evolution, the Corvette EV?GM has yet to release a detailed timeline for when the all-electric Vette will arrive, but GM President Mark Reuss did write on LinkedIn in 2022 that there will be an electric Corvette in the future.

Obviously, there will be a battery-powered Corvette sometime in the future; if there is such a car, buyers are unlikely to step on the carpet of a 2084 Corvette with their New Balance sneakers and unleash the power of the internal combustion engine. But suppose Reuss is talking about an electric Corvette that comes out two, five, or seven years from now, before the internal combustion engine is banned. Can you imagine it succeeding?

The E-Ray was accepted because it was similar to the regular C8, but refined. It still had a V8, which meant it still made V8 noises, but the extra torque and traction from the electric front axle meant the E-Ray went from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 2.5 seconds, the quickest of any current C8, including the high-revving Z06. Buyers weren’t interested in the environmental benefits, but the performance aspect was a big selling point.

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But if you remove the V8 from the equation, would buyers still be convinced to buy the Corvette EV simply because it’s faster? What if the first electric Corvette is also the first SUV and isn’t built on the Corvette platform at all, but instead uses the same Ultium component set as the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV?

Will enthusiasts accept it as a Corvette, or will it not matter because it will attract thousands of different people who have never considered a Corvette before?

Legendary Corvette chief engineer Tad Juechter, who retired this summer, New York Times As “a great start to the future of Corvette,” the model is expected to help buyers accept the idea of ​​an all-electric model.

“Even before we announced the E-Ray, we had customers yelling at us, ‘You better not make an electric Corvette!'” Juechter told Now in a recent interview. “But the E-Ray is a perfect device that is not afraid of electricity and can do great things for you.”

The recent slump in the electric vehicle market may mean that GM is in no rush to test this theory by launching an all-electric Vette. Car enthusiasts seem to be more reluctant to embrace electric vehicles than drivers looking for conventional transportation. It’s also worth noting that while Porsche will replace its 718 Boxster and Cayman twins with electric sports cars this fall, the iconic 911, which just got its first hybrid drivetrain, won’t get an all-electric model until later this decade.

Do you think the Corvette brand will survive the EV era? When do you think GM should launch an all-electric model? Would you rather see an electric Corvette sports car or GM build a Corvette SUV using EV technology? Leave a comment below and let us know.