On a January afternoon, Milford Proving Ground in Michigan registers 37 degrees. This 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray rotates its front and rear tyres for only a beat before hooking up and taking off in the 'black lake' sea of asphalt test area on a day that predicts rain but doesn't materialise.

Hyper vigilant Acceleration

Riding shotgun with Corvette Chassis Development Engineer Bill Wise, I initially experience the shock of a forceful launch. The biggest gain in traction came from the mid-engine C8 Corvette's capacity to properly transfer power to the road as contrasted to the front-engine C7. By adding greater power to the front axle, the 2024 Corvette E-Ray improves upon that development.

The Corvette E-Ray adds a front-mounted electric motor that generates 160 horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque to the Stingray's 495 horsepower 6.2-liter V-8 engine to create the first hybrid and all-wheel-drive Corvette. They generate 655 horsepower when combined. The 2023 Corvette Z06 has 15 more horsepower, but the E-Ray sprints from 0 to 60 mph in about 2.5 seconds. In addition, it completes the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds, which is a tenth quicker than the Z06 does.

Due to an 8.16:1 torque multiplication on the front motor, which helps the power arrive earlier than it does in the Stingray, it has around 1,020 lb-ft of torque at takeoff. In the centre tube is a 1.9-kwh battery pack that weighs just over 100 pounds. Chevy just requires slightly more than half of that to add and accept power quickly or run the car entirely on electricity.

'We had the idea that this was a situation when performance was crucial. We shouldn't try to increase the EV range. Tadge Juechter, the Corvette's executive chief engineer, told Motor Authority after the ride-along that they sought to enhance the vehicle's capabilities.

Given that the hybrid system's battery and inverter occupy all of the central tunnel's space, a larger battery is highly doubtful. Josh Holder, the Corvette's chief engineer, claims that the C8 was designed from the start to fit the battery, which consists of four modules with 20 pouch cells each.

Another task Wise gives the vehicle to complete is a rolling 'launch' from a speed of about 45 mph. This time, switching from electric propulsion to engine start-up is necessary. From the passenger seat, it's thrilling to observe the metamorphosis. The 6.2-liter V-8 roars to life with its characteristic start-up howl, rushing the car with excitement. Even though I can't feel anything through the throttle, I found out from engineers that the shift takes two to three seconds since the engine needs time to stabilise and adapt to the driver's demands while the transmission chooses the right gear and the exhaust catalysts light. The red, yellow, and green images in the instrument cluster show various phases of the process, including the conclusion that the engine has been synchronised.

The two electric driving modes Chevy offers for the E-Ray are Stealth and Shuttle, and both may be chosen by depressing the brake pedal and turning the controller dial situated in the centre console before starting the car. Both also emit a synthetic exterior sound that sounds like a terrifying flying saucer is hovering menacingly overhead to make the car's existence known to onlookers.

In shuttle mode, the car never ignites its motor, giving it a top speed of 15 mph. It works great for manoeuvring the car in the garage or driveway.

Stealth mode allows the car to travel up to 45 mph as long as the driver never applies more than 30% throttle or initiates more than 0.15 g of forward acceleration. According to engineers at Chevrolet, the electric driving range is between 3 and 4 miles.

In the E-other Ray's modes, which are shared with other Corvettes, the electric motor can provide hybrid power and/or the stability of all-wheel drive when necessary—as long as the speed stays below 150 mph. When the electric motor reaches its maximum rpm, which is around 15,000 rpm, it then shuts off. The electric motor can also provide a little extra power to allow the V-8's Active Fuel Management cylinder shut-off system to operate in 4-cylinder mode for a longer period of time on the highway.

The E-hybrid Ray's system must have cooling systems for the motor, battery, and power control unit. The front suspension's design had to be altered to accommodate front half shafts, which also increase weight. To keep the shocks rigid as they are elevated, Chevy places a tower-to-tower bracing between them. Ray's vehicle now weighs 3,774 pounds for the coupe and 3,886 pounds for the convertible with the inclusion of the E-modifications.

Chevy lightens the vehicle by replacing the 12-volt lead-acid accessory batteries with lithium-ion batteries and fitting it with standard carbon-ceramic brakes. Additionally, the added weight up front causes the weight distribution to move forward by a few percentage points, with the front axle now supporting about 41% of the weight as opposed to the Z06's 39% and the Corvette Stingray's 40%.

Chevrolet's Corvette-e-ray Detailed Review

General Motors wanted to clear any misconceptions about the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, which is history's first electrified, hybrid, all-wheel-drive Corvette and also happens to be the largest car to bear the name, by offering select media outlets a test drive. Before we even buckled up, the Chevy staff hammered home three essential talking points in support of its mission:

The bodywork, wheels, and tyres of the Z06 on the 2024 Corvette E-wide Ray show that fuel economy is not a priority for this car. If the Corvette E-ride Ray were intended for snowbelt all-weather traction, it would be taller. Every gramme of additional weight had to be compensated for by an equal increase in performance.

Did our experience convince us that the E-front-driving Ray's electrons will ultimately do more good than bad for the Corvette brand?

Hidden Mode

The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray may be started in its new Stealth mode by fastening your seatbelt, depressing the brake pedal, twisting the drive-mode knob anticlockwise, and then pressing the ignition. The fully electric mode activates unique gauge cluster graphics, including a battery-level gauge and power-flow graphics, on the infotainment screen. An electronic thrum with a specific purpose that is as hard to describe as that of the majority of other EVs serves as the required pedestrian-awareness noise. 

In this mode, the E-Ray can silently leave a relatively level location at a Toyota Prius-like speed (with which it roughly shares a weight-to-power ratio, in pure EV mode). The gasoline engine starts if you press the accelerator too hard, if you exceed 45 mph, or if the battery voltage drops below the level at which the car can reliably supply all-wheel-drive performance and characteristics. An EV's ideal range is 3 to 4 miles.

Between 0 and 100 mph

Then, after setting up shop on the dragstrip edge of GM's Milford Proving Ground Black Lake, Z Mode (the user-programmable mode optimised for maximum performance), launch control, and a full-throttle launch were all executed. In the sunny 40 degree Michigan weather, the revs were boosted to 3,500 rpm, and the car accelerated rapidly with minimal to no tyre issues. The Corvette E-Ray was carrying more than 400 pounds of human cargo, so it didn't have the rail gun feel of a four-motor AWD EV. 

Peak V-8 torque doesn't arrive until 5,150 rpm, or roughly 27 mph in first gear, but the 125 lb-ft of electric front-wheel torque turning the 275/30 20-inch front tyres is unquestionably what carried the E-Ray to 60 mph before the lighter, more powerful Z06. For each front tyre that is at least 10 inches wide, multiply that twist by an 8.16:1 gearing to generate an estimated 590 pounds of force. After our 105 mph blast, the battery had barely gotten to 50% of its capacity. If the straight had been long enough, the electric motor would have continued to move until 18,500 rpm (150 mph).

Significant Gymkhana Autocross

The driver of the Chevy used the Charge+ button to prioritise battery charging and briefly pressed the brake pedal to refuel the battery before attacking a high-speed cone-course layout to cover the upper right corner of Black Lake. While the driver-assist nannies were off, our friend drove a lap that made us both smile. He preferred somewhat drifty chassis slip angles over the quickest lap times (along with that Charge+ mode so we could squeeze every last electron out to show a hero lap). 

Most turns required only a small amount of brake pressure or throttle lift to load the front end and initiate a turn, allowing for a gradual increase in throttle to step the rear out as the front tyres helped drive the car through the corner. If we had had time for five or ten laps, engaging Charge+ mode would have more aggressively charged the battery throughout each deceleration zone, ensuring peak performance coming out of every curve.

Unruly Circle

The driver successfully completed the test drive's final stop, a 300-foot painted circle, while maintaining what seemed like a fairly consistent 20-degree chassis slip angle. The car can slide sideways before the front wheels begin to pull as soon as the throttle is applied thanks to a 125 lb-ft front/470 lb-ft rear torque distribution, rather than a true 'drift mode.' In comparison to a rear-drive Corvette, there is notably less need to saw at the wheel and feather the throttle with this performance.

Also Read: How driverless cars will change our world?

Overall Impressions

After spending a lot of time recently in the new Corvette Z06, our experience riding shotgun in the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray struck home how radically different these two vehicles' characteristics are. Sounds and vibrations seem considerably more exotic and wild in a Z06. However, it is really difficult to tell that the E-Ray weighs approximately 300 pounds more than a Z06, at least when riding shotgun. 

All directions felt equally strong g-forces. The E-Ray will be more easier to drift than the Z06 because it uses all-season tyres instead of the Z06's Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R ZPs. In conclusion, there's no reason to be concerned about the electrified camel that's hiding under the tent. This battery-powered hybrid vehicle is entirely befitting of the Corvette name.