A huge American electric sports car showdown is looming with General Motors announcing Monday, April 25, that an all-electric Corvette is on the way and an electrified model will be coming off the assembly line as soon as next year.
Chevrolet announced the news in a tweet showing a camouflaged Corvette with all-wheel drive racing through the snow. To see the electrified all-wheel-drive Corvette in action, see the video report at the top of this post.
GM President Mark Reuss wrote on LinkedIn the electric Corvette’s name and details would be announced at a future date, which wasn’t narrowed down.
“In addition to the amazing new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and other gas-powered variants coming, we will offer an electrified and a fully electric, Ultium-based Corvette in the future. In fact, we will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year. Details and names to come at a later date,” Reuss wrote.
It’s been widely speculated that an electrified Corvette will be called the E-Ray since GM trademarked the name years ago.
Automotive journalists have also speculated for years that a hybrid V8-powered mid-engine Corvette would be coming, although Reuss didn’t specify Monday whether the electrified Corvette would be a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid.
GM’s announcement comes just two weeks after Tesla announced its long-delayed second-generation Roadster sports car would be start production in 2023.
While Chevrolet didn’t announce any specs for its upcoming Corvette EV, if it wants to meet or beat Tesla’s upcoming Roadster, the electric Vette will have to have a 0-60mph time of at least 1.9 seconds, a 250-mph top speed and range of more than 600 miles – that’s assuming the Roadster’s originally announced specs hold true.
The current top-of-the-line Corvette is the upcoming 2023 V8-powered Z06, which has a claimed 0-60 mph of 2.6 seconds.
GM didn’t hint at any pricing for either the electrified or EV Corvette but the Z06 is expected to have a starting price of about $90,000 before any options or dealer mark-ups.
Tesla has previously said its Roadster will having a starting price of $200,000, although it doesn’t currently list a starting price on its website.
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