autoevolution
 

2023 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Will Match LT2 V8 With Two E-Motors, Says SAE

Based on a trademark filing with the USPTO, what used to be called Grand Sport will morph into E-Ray for the 2023 model year. What’s more, the first-ever hybrid Corvette is expected with e-AWD instead of RWD.
C8 Corvette 70 photos
Photo: Chevrolet
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray engine and transmission
The SAE says that “analysts who scrutinized the mixed-materials chassis at birth saw this hybrid move coming,” and they’re absolutely right.

Download a copy of the owner’s manual for the Stingray, and on page 244, you are presented with a diagram of a fuse box that includes a fuse for the pedestrian-friendly alert system and a fuse for the battery pack.

Where is the battery located, you ask? The Society of Automotive Engineers believes that it will be housed in the center tunnel, which makes a lot of sense because the mid-engine sports car utilizes a transaxle. As for the e-AWD system mentioned in the opening paragraph, two AC electric motors rated at more than 50 ponies each are supposed to drive the front wheels.

Clever software will enable advanced torque vectoring, which should make the E-Ray a hoot in the corners. More weight over the front axle should also address the understeery nature of the Stingray. Estimated with 600-plus horsepower, of which 495 horsepower can be attributed to the LT2 small-block V8 with the NPP exhaust, the E-Ray will arrive right after the Z06.

Instead of pushrods, you can look forward to a DOHC valvetrain and a flat-plane crankshaft that will enable the Z06 to rev beyond 8,000 rpm. For reference, the Shelby GT350 features a 5.2-liter FPC engine with an 8,250-rpm fuel cutoff, 526 horsepower, and 429 pound-feet (582 Nm) of torque.

The powerplant in the Z06 will be upgraded with a pair of turbos for the ZR1, which is expected for the 2024 model year. Not long after that, General Motors will roll out the Zora with a hybrid twin-turbo V8 and e-AWD.

A Corvette-styled SUV is under consideration too, but the utility vehicle will be exclusively electric as opposed to the sports car. According to General Motors vice president of design Michael Simcoe, Chevrolet will use the Ultium family of lithium-ion batteries and drive units for “full-size pickup trucks, compact crossovers, and even high-performance vehicles.”
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories