Corvette ‘E-Ray’ Hybrid More Likely as GM Drops ‘Manta Ray’ Trademark Application
Corvette ‘E-Ray’ Hybrid More Likely as GM Drops ‘Manta Ray’ Trademark Application
Corvette ‘E-Ray’ Hybrid More Likely as GM Drops ‘Manta Ray’ Trademark Application
General Motors might offer its proprietary Ultium Drive battery technology in the upcoming Corvette E-Ray.
The excitement around the C8 Corvette does not seem to be dying down as we approach 2021. The Bowling Green sports car claimed another milestone victory in Q3 2020 when it outsold its rivals in the premium sports car segment. Now, as we prepare to bid goodbye to this challenging year, new updates about the Corvette E-Ray have surfaced.
As we reported earlier, recently speculation points to General Motors introducing an all-wheel-drive hybrid Corvette — aka the E-Ray — rather than a Grand Sport variant in the nameplate’s upcoming lineup. (Although if you listen to Corvette Executive Chief Engineer, Tadge Juechter, it’s hard to see Chevrolet abandoning a nameplate like Grand Sport entirely, so we suspect more details are coming.)
This week the rumors heated up again as GM Authority reported that, “GM has abandoned the trademark applications for the Manta Ray names since it is now planning to use the E-Ray name instead.”
Corvette E-Ray’s hybrid drivetrain will feature a dual-electric motor setup, which will be mounted on the front axle. The electric motors will work in tandem with the 6.2-liter LT2 V8 motor to drive all four wheels. We have seen automakers offer hybrid tech in their high-performance models before. Porsche equipped the 918 with a hybrid powertrain, and today the model is considered to be one of the most competent hypercars money can buy.
According to a recent PowerNation report, the Corvette E-Ray might not receive a conventional hybrid system that one would find powering other mid-engine offerings such as BMW i8 and Acura NSX. PowerNation also claims GM’s Ultium Drive batteries — which will be featured in the Hummer EV as well as GM’s eCrate systems — will help propel the new E-Ray hybrid. PowerNation continued, “The E-Ray’s “spine” will contain a cluster of GM Ultium battery packs. The earliest reports put the hybrid Corvette producing nearly 600-horsepower and 500-pound-feet of torque, but these are purely speculative figures.”
Chevrolet has refrained from divulging details about the upcoming Corvette E-Ray, but we expect GM will offer the hybrid sports car as a widebody model. This will allow the car manufacturer to better accommodate E-Ray’s hybrid hardware. The C8 Corvette is one of the most popular mid-engine sports cars in the market right now, and with the rapidly growing demand for electrification, E-Ray seems to be the perfect recipe for success.
