Review: The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Is Shockingly Good
Chevrolet has started teasing a 2025 Corvette ZR1 that it says will deliver “unthinkable speed” when it is unveiled this summer.
It hasn’t indicated exactly what that means, but I can tell you what it doesn’t mean.
The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is currently the quickest car General Motors has ever made.
The 655 hp all-wheel-drive hybrid can a accelerate to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and cover a quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds.
Well, those are Chevy’s official numbers. Some independent tests have gotten even better times out of it.
So, with that being the reality and very much in our thoughts, the ZR1 is going to have to be quicker, right?
The E-Ray’s acceleration is already mind-numbing. You can feel your skeleton dragging the soft tissue in your body along with it thee puts the power down without any wheel slip or rowdiness.
This is particularly impressive given the car’s setup. It has the conventional 495 hp 6.2-liter V8-based powertrain in the middle of the car to drive the rear wheels, while a 160 hp electric motor has been installed under the nose for the front wheels.
There is no mechanical connection between the two ends. The electric motor draws its power from a 1.9 kWh battery pack installed in a central tunnel between the passengers and computers figure out how to get the two ends working in concert. The performance is virtuosic and accompanied by a unique blend of raucous V8 and electric motor sounds, both mechanical and digitally enhanced.
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Despite its focus on acceleration, the E-Ray is the luxury GT of the Corvette lineup. It wears the wide body styling of the track-focused Z06 that it’s .1 seconds quicker than to both marks, but comes standard with a more understated look that has more body colored trim. My Ceramic Matrix Grey test car was dressed up with a set of blue racing stripes, however, and anything but subtle.
The E-Ray’s chill demeanor is enhanced by a relatively cushy suspension with adjustable electronically controlled dampers that manages to soak up rough roads even with the the 25-series rear and 30-series front rubber bands that pass for tires.
Chevrolet offers it in coupe and hardtop convertible models that start at $106,595 and $113,595, respectively, but you can crank that up into the $140,000 range if you load on the options, which include a set of $15,500 carbon fiber wheels.
While not primarily meant to be a green machine, the E-Ray’s 19 mpg combined fuel economy rating matches the 495 hp Stingray’s and is much better than the 670 hp Z06’s 15 mpg. It can even go all-electric, but not for long. There is a Shuttle mode that can be engaged before you start it, which turns it into a front-wheel-drive car with at 15 mph top speed for moving it around lots and garages. A slightly more impressive Stealth mode is also available that has a top electric speed of 45 mph and can cover a couple of miles on a full battery charge, but will call the V8 into action as soon as it needs to go quicker or faster.
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As far as how fast the E-Ray is, rather than quick, the top speed is 183 mph, but at that point it is running purely on gasoline. The electric motor punches out at 150 mph and doesn’t come back to work until you start to slow down and it turns into a generator to help slow the vehicle and charge the battery for the next time you want to feel the acceleration. I can’t imagine needing more than the E-Ray provides, but once you experience it, it’s all you want to feel. Which has me thinking that the ZR1 is going to be something I can hardly imagine.
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