GM Stops Chasing Corvette Manta Ray Name, Will Use E-Ray Instead
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General Motors has abandoned plans to secure rights to the Manta Ray name in the U.S. and Canada. It’s believed that GM has elected to use the E-Ray name on the Chevy Corvette C8 variant once destined to be called Manta Ray.
Here’s how it all went down: five years ago, in June 2015, GM filed trademark applications for “Manta Ray” and “Corvette Manta Ray” in the U.S. as well as for Corvette Manta Ray in Canada. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO ) subsequently granted notice of allowance for both applications, but did not fully approve them until GM filed a document called the Statement of Use. Intended to eliminate a practice known as trademark squatting, the SOU must prove to the office that the applicant is using the name being registered in a real-world product or service. Sources tell us that, GM has abandoned the trademark applications for the Manta Ray names since it’s now planning to use the E-Ray name instead.
| Trademark | Office | Filing Date | Goods & Services | Application Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manta Ray | USPTO (USA) | June 18, 2015 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, engines therefor and structural parts thereof | 86666844 | Abandoned in 2019 |
| Corvette Manta Ray | USPTO (USA) | June 18, 2015 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, engines therefor and structural parts thereof | 86666866 | Abandoned in 2020 |
| Corvette Manta Ray | CIPO/OPIC (Canada) | June 18, 2015 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, engines therefor and structural parts thereof | 1733522 | Abandoned |
Expected to launch in 2022 as a 2023 model year vehicle, the Corvette E-Ray will be the first of two hybrid models in the mid-engine Corvette C8 range. The C8 E-Ray is expected to pair the 6.2L V8 LT2 gasoline engine from the Corvette C8 Stingray driving the rear wheels with an electric motor up front driving the front wheels. Total estimated total system output should land around 600 horsepower.
A C8 E-Ray prototype undergoing testing in January 2020
The C8 E-Ray is also expected to feature a wide body design to accommodate wider running gear compared to the “base” Stingray. And, as GM Authority was first to report, the E-Ray will take the general place of the C8 Grand Sport in the Corvette lineup.
This places the E-Ray in the middle of the Corvette C8 range, between the base model Stingray and the track-focused C8 Z06, but below the expected C8 ZR1 and the C8 Zora range-toppers. Named after “father of the Corvette” Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Zora will be the other hybrid Corvette, and is expected to have a total system output of around 1,000 horsepower when it is launched in the 2024 model year.
1969 Corvette Manta Ray
It’s worth noting that GM has used the Manta Ray name in the past, but not for a customer car. The second of two 1965 Mako Shark II concepts, a running model which made its debut at that year’s Paris Motor Show, was given several updates in 1969, including a flying buttress-style rear end and more production-ready side exhausts. The concept was renamed Manta Ray to reflect the changes. The car still exists, and is part of the GM Heritage Center Collection in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
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There are so many people that think they know what a real Corvette is. It’s a shame that they don’t.
They’re real and true Corvette people, then they’re people who just like Corvette.
Are you kidding me? No true Covetteman, I guess.
First of all, how can you call it a Corvette or a sport car and it has no manual transmission.
That’s just how it is now. Not enough people would buy a manual to make it worth producing.
Well to date myself I learned to drive on a ’64 Chevy SS with a 3 speed on the column and the car was only a couple years old.
After that I drive ’67 Chevy Nova 4 on the floor and also a ’64 Malibu 4 on the floor.
So yes I’ve been there and done that.. blah blah.
A C7 Auto will beat out a C7 manual as the computers and shifting are seamless and thus no human error.
The rare chance, and I mean rare, is a very good driver, as me, that can shift with the best of them.
And yes, I pounded through my buddys C7 manual so I know what it is like.
And the C8 is not manual and guess what….its still called a Corvette.
Or didn’t you know that?
Or you don’t consider the C8 a Corvette either???
It’s a kit car and, Corvette is what they call it.
How about calling it Corvette C9
Why not the C- Ray????
I don’t care what GM puts in the car a “vette” is a “vette” when you pull up anywhere you are in a “Corvette” I happen to own an 85′ coupe. Definitely not new but I love it. I will probably never be able to own a new one but when I pull up I’m still in a “vette”. You rich guy’s can cry about it all you want I’m going for a drive…