What If... GM Smacked Tesla Around With a Real-Life Corvette C8 Electric Sedan?

The mid-2010s endured a perfect storm as far as the automotive industry was concerned. On the one hand, there was Tesla enjoying a great deal of success with its fully electric Model S. Then, Volkswagen went and got caught cheating during diesel emissions tests and before you knew it, everyone started building EVs.

But here we go again, getting ahead of ourselves. I want to revisit the early days of the Model S, because decades from now we’ll be looking back at this vehicle with a great deal of respect and admiration, which is not to say that we don’t already feel that way.

Tesla began developing the Model S back in 2007, a time when fast sedans still had gas guzzling V10 engines (yes, I’m talking about the E60 BMW M5). Fast-forward two years and in the spring of 2009 an official prototype was unveiled, looking like a cross between a Jaguar XF and a Fisker Karma.

When the production version came out in 2012, the styling was a little more conservative, yet the Model S still looked futuristic compared to your run-of-the-mill mid-size premium sedans. Fun fact, it was designed by the same guy who drew up the Pontiac Solstice. More impressive than its styling was its performance, from those early 60D models to the 70D, 85D and all the flagship specs that followed – meaning the P85D, P90D, P100D and now the Plaid.

Oh and even though it was eventually surpassed by the Model 3, it was the Model S that first became the best-selling plug-in electric car in the world, so yeah, let’s put some respect on its name.

Today, there are more than a few Tesla Model S competitors out there, although not all of them should be considered direct rivals. From Mercedes, you have the EQE and the EQS duo, while Porsche will gladly sell you a Taycan if you’re in the market for a flagship EV sedan (or wagon / Cross Turismo). Then there’s the Audi e-tron GT, which is a great alternative to the Model S, and so is the Lucid Air.

More will come, like the Polestar 5, based on the Precept concept. The Swedish EV is one of the most eagerly anticipated models of the year, and one that Sylvester Stallone absolutely loved in person.

Now, we’re going to set all these real cars aside and entertain the following hypothetical scenario: What if Chevrolet built a fully electric four-door variant of the Corvette C8?

Look carefully at our exclusive rendering and you’ll probably realize that stylistically, it would fit right in with the Taycan and the e-tron GT. Also, while the wheelbase has been stretched out considerably, we wouldn’t count on there being a lot of space in the back, which some of you might recall was a real issue for the Aston Martin Rapide.

Compared to the Model S, you’d probably have less practicality overall, but the design would be fresh and we’re sure the performance would be there too, courtesy of GM’s Ultium battery technology, coupled with a dual-motor setup. Performance-wise, if GM can give the Silverado EV as much as 664 hp and the Hummer EV as much as 1,000 hp, we reckon they could easily give a four-door Corvette EV more of the same – or at least an estimated 800 hp, like on the Hummer EV 3x.

Bottom line, we can tell just by looking at this rendering that if this Vette was real, it would be extremely fun and satisfying to drive. But as a family car, I think a lot of people would still rather have the Model S.