Automotive Engineering - March 2021 - 10

TECHNOLOGY
REPORT
PROPULSION

Electrified Corvettes in development

SAE INTERNATIONAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeff Hemphill
President
Todd Zarfos
2020 President
Srinivasa (Sri) Srinath, PhD
2022 President Elect
Susan Ying, PhD
Vice President - Aerospace
Ken Washington, PhD
Vice President - Automotive
Michael Weinert
Vice President -
Commercial Vehicle
Andrew Jeffers
Treasurer

With more than 20,000 units of the eighthgeneration Chevrolet Corvette sold since it
arrived in showrooms last year, expanding this
sports car family is next on the C8 program's agenda. In keeping with GM's goal
to launch 20 electric cars and trucks by 2025,
engineers currently are busy electrifying the
new Corvette.
A Corvette hybrid will arrive for the 2023
model year wearing the 'E-Ray' trademark GM
registered six years ago, according to industry
sources who are not permitted to discuss the
program publicly. To provide running room for
this upstart, the Corvette's iconic Grand
Sport trim has been given a leave of absence.
Analysts who scrutinized the C8
Corvette's mixed-materials chassis at birth saw
this hybrid move coming. Its aluminum structural backbone is a 6.5 x 12.6 x 41.0-in (165 x
320 x 1048-mm) box that yields an internal
volume of 2 cubic feet; on the current Stingray
it houses only coolant lines. Squint your eyes
and imagine GM's Ultium pouch-style lithium battery cells packaged inside this chamber.
Front spring, damper and steering components
were located from the start of the program to
give halfshafts from a pair of electric motors a
straight shot to C8's front wheel hubs.
Two independently controlled 50-plus hp
(37-plus kW) AC electric motors butted together
10 March 2021

will raise the Corvette hybrid's total output to
more than 600 hp (448 kW). The mid-mounted
LT2 6.2-L V8 and its 8-speed Tremec dual-clutch
transaxle will continue in the E-Ray's hybrid system with minimal changes.
Significant performance gains will come
from the improved power-to-weight ratio, the
enhanced traction provided by all-wheel drive
and torque vectoring on demand at the front
wheels. In addition, electrification is expected
to improve fuel economy by giving the engine
a break during cruising. Propelled solely by its
electric motors, the hybrid Corvette will be eligible for access to city centers where combustion engines alone are forbidden.
Downsides include a modest weight gain
and some loss of front-trunk ( " frunk " ) cargo space. Assuming GM will configure the
E-Ray as a plug-in hybrid, owners will have to
scout out charging opportunities at home and
on the road. With an expected base price
well less than $100,000, E-Ray should take the
fight capably to the Acura NSX, BMW i8 (replacement) and Tesla Roadster sportscars.
Proving this is no electric flash in the pan, GM
has two additional Corvette strides in the making.
For the 2025 model year, the Zora edition - honoring Corvette patron saint Zora Arkus-Duntov
- will combine the highest-caliber weapons
in Corvette Engineering's arsenal to muster more

Gregory L. Bradley, Esq.
Secretary
Pascal Joly
Jeff Varick
Rhonda Walthall
Joan Wills
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AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

CHEVROLET

The C8's advanced-design, mixed-materials chassis structure had electrified propulsion systems baked into it
from the program's inception.

David L. Schutt, PhD
Chief Executive Officer

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Automotive Engineering - March 2021

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