Corvette E-Ray Dominates a Pair of Italian Supercars in a Drag Race

The Corvette E-Ray proves that not only are the Italian supercars no match in a drag race, but neither is the Corvette Z06.

The ‘E’ in E-Ray refers to the electric motor supplementing the LT2 V8. But in terms of its acceleration, the ‘E’ could also mean exceptional, explosive, and earth-shattering. When Chevy announced the specifications for this car, we knew it was going to be quick. With a combined horsepower rating of 655 being channeled to all four wheels Chevy projected a 2.5 second 0 to 60 time and a 10.5 second quarter mile. But, projections and marketing speak are one thing. A real life drag race against a pair of Italian supercars is another. Can the Corvette E-Ray beat these high priced exotics? Can it beat Chevys’ own mega hyped C8 Z06? Yes. But it is a little complicated.

A video recently posted on the Hagerty YouTube channel shows the E-Ray squaring off in a drag race against some expensive Italian machinery. On hand is a Ferrari F8 Spider and a Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder. It should be noted that both Italian cars had to be rented. Apparently, Ferrari and Lamborghini are both afraid of a little competition. That reminds us of another E-word. Embarrassing. The E-Ray dusts both of them in the quarter mile. But that result is not as cut and dry as you may think when it comes to measuring the speed of these cars. Let’s take a closer look.

The Cars

The Corvette E-Ray is the only all-wheel drive car in this competition. It puts out 655 horsepower and 595 pound-feet of torque. It also tips the scales at a rather portly 3,924 pounds. The F8 packs more power and less weight with 710 horsepower and 3,650 pounds. The Lambo is a bit down on power with 602 horsepower coming from a naturally aspirated V10. But like the Ferrari it is significantly lighter than the E-Ray with just 3,674 pounds to carry around. Even with a power to weight advantage the Italian supercars can’t overcome the tremendous traction advantage of the AWD E-Ray. At least not in a quarter mile drag race.

The Race

The E-Ray simply walks the other cars at the start. Within about the first second the E-Ray has already put a full car length on the F8 and Evo. That lead continues to swell to about 3 car lengths by about the eighth mile point. At that point the E-Ray has used up all of its traction advantage and the Italians, especially the F8 begin to make up ground. Fast. But it is not enough within the quarter mile as the E-Ray finishes first. It posted a 0 to 60 time of 2.4 seconds and did the quarter in 10.4 at 129 mph. Both figures are a tick quicker than what Chevy projected. The F8 finished in 10.6 seconds and the Evo took 11.1 seconds. The Z06 that was tested previously took 10.5 seconds. So, the E-Ray is quicker than all of them.

The Analysis

The all-wheel drive traction advantage won this race for the E-Ray. However, look at the trap speeds at the end of the quarter mile. The E-Ray was doing 129 mph. The far slower Evo was doing the same speed. The Z06 was doing 131 mph and the F8 a significantly faster 137 mph. If this was a roll race and the traction advantage was eliminated the E-Ray would be dusted by the F8. And it would likely finish behind the Z06 and Evo as well. That is not to say the E-Ray is slow by any means. But it has a trump card and that is the AWD system to get it off the line. Take that away and it is still quick but not on the level of some other cars.

With a time of 10.4 seconds in the quarter mile that places it in sixth place all-time on the Hagerty drag race leaderboard. The only vehicles ahead of it are a handful of insanely powerful EV sedans, a superbike, and a multi-million dollar hypercar. None of them can be considered competition for a Corvette as they are all very different vehicles. So, in this context you can see just how impressive this new E-Ray is.

E-Ray or Z06?

The Z06 or the E-Ray, which is right for you? They are both incredible performers but also very different. As a comparison, look at their Porsche rivals. The 911 GT3 aligns with the Z06, and the 911 Turbo aligns with the E-Ray. The Z06, although no slouch, can’t quite match the off the line acceleration of the E-Ray. The E-Ray will also hold the advantage in inclement weather conditions. With the E-Ray, although no slouch, it can’t quite match the lap times of the Z06 around a road course. The E-Ray also can’t match the incredible sound the Z06 makes. This can be a pro or con depending on your perspective. The E-Ray being quieter and more civilized would be a better daily driver. The Z06 is going to be the more engaging and exciting track car or weekend toy.

Our advice would be for you to buy one of each. That would still be cheaper than buying the Ferrari F8 Spider. Chevy has truly developed a world beating supercar platform with the new C8. Now we just need them to build them fast enough to get them into customers hands.

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