A Hybrid Chevrolet Corvette Was Spotted Testing at the Nürburgring
The Chevrolet Corvette has a little bit of a reputation. No, I’m not talking about the New Balances and dad hats. Funny as those may be, the ‘Vette has a much larger reputation. It’s all down to the American sports car’s format: RWD, big V8, and the iconic winged badge. Now, a new hybrid version of the Chevrolet Corvette has been seen at the Nürburgring.
This could be a huge change for the ‘Vette, which has never had any sort of hybrid powertrain in its history.
Chevy is making a hybrid Corvette
As far as speculation and spy shots go, this is about as good as things get. We have footage of Corvettes testing at the famed Nordschleife, and another exciting piece of info from six years ago that only adds fuel to the hybrid ‘Vette fire. Back in 2015, GM filed a patent for the name “E-Ray.” Then, in 2020, the brand renewed the patent. Obviously, E-Ray is pretty close to Stingray.
While we didn’t see any badging to indicate a hybrid powertrain on the camo Chevrolet Corvette in the video, we did hear it. Or rather, you can’t hear it. The video shows numerous passes where there’s no audible engine noise from the Corvette. Moreover, the alleged hybrid version is often drowned out by a camo-covered C8 Z06 Corvette.
How much will the Corvette E-Ray cost?
Of course, that brings the question of pricing to mind. Right now, supposing you can get one, a brand new Chevrolet Corvette starts at $60,995 MSRP. Given the extra complexity and materials in the theoretical E-Ray, we can assume pricing will be higher. There’s no official word from GM yet, but expect the hybrid Corvette to fit in between the base model and Z06, right around $70,000-$80,000.
Pricing info is great, but far more intriguing is the integration of electric power into the Chevrolet Corvette. There’s really two choices here. Either A) a full-on electric motor on the front axle, a-la Ferrari SF90, or B) a sort of supercapacitor torque-fill deal, similar to the Lamborghini Sian. However, far more interesting is another tidbit in the video.
The Chevrolet Corvette could be a manual hybrid
The video shows the supposed Corvette E-Ray pulling up to an intersection. Notably, the Chevrolet Corvette maybe-hybrid stops, then rolls backward slightly, all without reverse lights. Either the driver threw the car in neutral for some reason, or there’s a clutch that isn’t being engaged by the driver. Could that mean a stick shift is being tested in addition to the hybrid powertrain? It’s possible, but only time and GM will tell.
