Every year, automakers take their latest performance-oriented creations to the track for testing. More often than not, a brand’s latest vehicle constitutes an innovation and improvement over its predecessor. However, every once in a great while a marque parts with tradition and takes a stab at something new. Such is the case with the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray: a laundry list of firsts for America’s original sports car. I learned that much sliding all four grippy tires around the NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is one of the fastest American cars ever, and it’s every bit as electrifying as you might expect

The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray met a mixed reception among die-hard plastic fantastic fanatics. On the one hand, the E-Ray was instantly one of the fastest American cars of all time. Hell, the E-Ray immediately established itself in testing as the quickest-accelerating production Chevrolet Corvette. Ever. However, it also employs an electric motor to gain its hybridized, all-wheel drive (AWD) advantage. Not exactly a fan favorite. 

Then, of course, there’s the C8 Z06. 5.5 liters of operatic star-spangled savagery and possibly the best pound-for-pound production American car ever. Enough said. However, even the most devout of the Corvette faithful should keep an open mind for the E-Ray. Well, I drove both of the Corvette’s superstar models and my time on the track with the grippy, partially electric E-Ray removed all doubt. 

With 655 horsepower on tap and the same corner-gluttonous 345/25ZR-21 rear rubber as the Z06, you might expect the E-Ray to have some of the same circuit credentials as the Z car. You’d be right. Even with my admittedly brutal driving style, the E-Ray’s carbon ceramic brakes were compliant without fade. Moreover, the E-Ray was receptive to my binary style of ballistic corner exits and harsh entrances.

Oh, and explosive acceleration? 2.5 seconds to 60 mph. That’s rarified air. An exclusive club. While many vehicles fail to deliver on promised performance benchmarks, the E-Ray doesn’t. Apply launch control and the high-voltage ‘Vette will scramble to 60 mph like a tenured drag car. But it’ll then attack corners with the best of them. Sorry, Hellcat fanatics.

In short, the E-Ray may lack the old-school appeal of a Z06’s best Ferrari 458 impression. However, the new hybrid ‘Vette is every ounce of the quantum leap the nameplate needed to stay competitive with increasingly refined (and expensive) rivals. That is, until the incipient ZR1 explodes onto the scene.