Automotive Engineering - March 2023 - 10

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Chevrolet unveils 2024 Corvette E-Ray hybrid
Rather than toasting their sports car's
70th birthday with polite champagne
sips, Chevy yanked the wraps off another
edition of the eighth-generation Corvette:
the 2024 hybrid E-Ray which combines
an electrically-driven front axle with a
potent V8 energizing the rear wheels.
Strategically sandwiched between
the base Stingray and the Z06 street/
track racer, the Corvette E-Ray is offered
in both targa coupe and convertible
body styles. Deliveries commence
later this year at a suggested retail price
of $104,295 for the base coupe.
Planned from the C8 engineering program's
onset, E-Ray has a compact 160hp
(119 kW), 125-lb-ft (169 Nm) electric
motor located between the front wheels,
just beneath its front trunk. A coupling
attached to the motor's output accommodates
wheel speed differences in corners.
Rather than plugging in to charge
the battery, the AC motor serves as a
generator during deceleration and cruising
to perform that function.
The 1.9 kWh lithium-ion battery pack,
providing about 1/7th the energy of the
battery in a 2023 Toyota Prius hybrid,
resides in the 2.0-cu ft (56-L) cavity
serving as the Corvette aluminum space
frame's backbone. A power inverter is
also located within that tunnel. Electric
assistance varies according to which of
six drive modes is selected by the driver.
Various data details, such as the AC
motor's instantaneous output, are available
for display on cockpit instruments.
The standard Stingray's 6.2-L LT2 V8
hammers E-Ray's rear wheels with 495
hp (369 kW) and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm)
through a carryover Tremec TR9080
8-speed dual-clutch transaxle.
Armed with 655 combined horsepower
(488 kW) and all-wheel-drive traction,
the sprint from standing start to 60 mph
(96.5 km/h) takes only 2.5 seconds according
to Chevrolet, beating the mighty
Z06 by 0.1 second while matching that
670-hp (500 kW) Corvette's 10.5-second
quarter-mile time. This performance distinguishes
E-Ray as the quickest
Corvette in history. The newfound drive
traction compensates for the fact that
E-Ray's 3774-lb (1712-kg) dry weight
top's Z06 mass by 260 lb. (118 kg).
Subtle exterior
changes and badging
identify the 2024
Corvette E-Ray.
Twisting a center console knob to engage
Stealth mode enables virtually silent
driving in the E-Ray up to 45 mph (72
km/h) via the electric propulsion motor.
Active Fuel Management, which allows
4-cylinder operation of the 6.2-L V8 during
highway cruising, carries over to maximize
E-Ray's fuel economy. Final EPA
mileage ratings are not yet available.
Carbon-ceramic brakes gripped by
Brembo monobloc calipers and
Magnetic Ride Control (electronically
adjustable) dampers are standard
equipment. The only visual distinctions
from a Z06 are that E-Ray's four exhaust
outlets move from the centerline
to the rear corners of the car, plus a
new twisted 5-spoke wheel design.
The brake-torque management system
which selectively slows one front
wheel during hard cornering reputedly
works so well that full-throttle drifting
requires nothing more than confident
hands on the steering wheel. Corvette
engineers who've tested E-Rays in deep
snow report that they're all but unstoppable
- even on summer tires.
To prove their commitment to electriReal-time
data from the hybrid-propulsion system, including the AC motor's instantaneous output,
are displayed on the E-Ray's cluster and adjacent cockpit screen.
10 March 2023
fied Corvettes, Chevy engineers will
subsequently introduce a second hybrid
called Zora (in honor of long-time chief
engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov) with combined
horsepower topping the 1000
hp/746 kW) mark. Further, speculation
is rampant that an all-new, all-electric
C9 Corvette will arrive by the turn of
the decade.
Don Sherman
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: GM
Automotive Engineering - March 2023

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