The upcoming C8 Corvette E-Ray will introduce a brand-new chapter for the Corvette nameplate, dropping in as not only the very-first Vette to equip a hybrid powerplant, but also the first Vette to equip all-wheel drive. That said, there will be a few bits carried over from models past – such as the C8 Corvette Stingray’s exhaust tips.
As confirmed in spy photos and leaks, the upcoming C8 Corvette E-Ray will run a set of quad outboard exhaust tips with a square design. The design incorporates rounded edges and a bell-like shape, sitting neatly in a horizontal layout in the outer corners of the Corvette’s rear bumper – just like the C8 Corvette Stingray.
C8 Corvette Stingray
C8 Corvette E-Ray
By contrast, the international-market C8 Corvette Z06 runs slightly different exhaust tips. While the international-market Z06 also incorporates an outboard exhaust design with quad tips, the tips are flatter around the top edge, leading down into a hexagonal shape for the lower half of the tips. Overall, the design is less square than that of the Corvette Stingray and upcoming Corvette E-Ray.
Check out what we mean right here:
Notably, the exhaust tips on the international-market Z06 are identical to those equipped by the Cadillac Escalade-V, which, per previous GM Authority coverage, including the same flat upper design and hexagonal lower shape.
As for the greasy bits at the other end, the upcoming C8 Corvette E-Ray runs the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 LT2 gasoline engine, which is the same powerplant equipped by the C8 Corvette Stingray. However, in the new E-Ray, the LT2 is assisted by a hybrid system that mounts an electric motor up front to drive the front wheels, while the LT2 gasoline engine drives the rear wheels, blessing the E-Ray with all-wheel grip. Put it all together, and total peak output is estimated to hit at roughly 600 horsepower.
Under the skin, the C8 Corvette E-Ray will ride on the GM Y2 platform, the same underpinnings as the rest of the C8 lineup.
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Comments
Good start. All wheel drive. Now turn up the power on the two front wheel drive wheels. Bring on the Zora..🇺🇸
Will the E-ray run on electric only or in the hybrid mode only? If electric, would need a battery pack. Is there an estimate of the curb weight?
Good, distingishes them from the ZO6.
Did I miss something?
I find it hard to get excited about exhaust tips
and see that as ‘news’.
Time to crank up the power, Mary. Ford and Dodge have both been well over 700 hp for a while now. Be a leader, not a follower (loser).
Horsepower is only one piece of the performance equation. Corvettes do the HP issue without being subject to the gas guzzler tax. However, the Z06 will get the tax. Thanks, Brandon.
Show me the electric-only model.
No such thing for the C8.
I’m not totally sold on the E-Ray C8, yet. Maybe when it actually makes it to market (hopefully some time in 2023) and we see how it performs overall (ride, handling, mileage ect.) plus the biggest concerns…”price, availability and reliability” have been known to be taken care of in ways that makes us Corvette enthusiast (and owners too) ready to lay down some serious cash for a new C8 model. While the performance should be guaranteed using an all wheel drive system, what bothers me might be the reliability of this combination…although to Chevy’s credit, having this new model playing in the “frozen tundra” looks pretty cool (cold?) however I’m betting that very few of these E-Ray’s will end up being used and abused in such a manner as shown in the video. We’ll see, oh and one more thing…the cost of all of this technology, I have a feeling that it won’t come cheaply, in either the factory MSRP or worse yet…the scary “Fair Market Value” stickers that will of course be added to this new model by some Chevrolet Dealers who’ve been know to “bang the public as hard as they can”…as if the MSRP on even the Base C8 hasn’t been messed with since “Day One”! Either way, it’ll be interesting.
The Corvette C8 as an E-Ray will complement the C8 ZO6 as a gentle power Corvette but with all-wheel drive. The price will probably be a bit lower than the ZO6 because the E-Ray power of ICE and 2x e-motors should be 650 HP. The E-Ray is expected to weigh 300 pounds more than the Stingray. But the Power C8 E-Ray is more economical than the C8 ZO6 and the EPA will no longer be able to penalize the C8 E-Ray with the GasGuzzlerTax. This is important for fleet consumption at GM and also for many customers who mostly just want to enjoy quiet rides in a super sports car and don’t like racetracks.
It is also possible that the C8 E-Ray will come as an off-road special version as early as MY2025. The example of the Porsche 911 Dakar shows that there should be customers (according to marketing) who want to go off-road with sports cars. Allegedly see Lamborghini …
And what is interesting is that from MY2024 the LT2 V8 N/A will have about 10HP more power. As with the former C6 ZO6!