Chevrolet Leaked Its Own 2024 Corvette E-Ray Hybrid: What We Know
By way of a leak in the Chevrolet vehicle visualizer, we just got our first look at the latest build of the 2024 Corvette E-Ray, the first gas/electric hybrid to bear the storied Corvette name.
Theories and scuttlebutt about a possible hybrid Corvette have run rampant for years. Enthusiasts have been whispering since at least 2015 when AutoBlog reported Chevy scooping up the E-Ray trademark. We got in the game ourselves in 2019 with the C8.
Until now, however, we've been restricted to rumors. Thanks to this leak, first reported by enthusiast site Corvette Blogger, we now have a clearer idea of what the iconic American thoroughbred can do with a ground-up redesign to suit a fuel-sipping hybrid.
Major manufacturers have already committed to hybrids that can hang with heavyweights in spaces normally dominated by conventional builds. Benz has a bonkers AMG hybrid 4-door coupe coming, Aston Martin has pitched a true hybrid hypercar in the Valhalla, and Audi turned an innocent Audi RS 3 hybrid into a glorious rally car ready for Dakar.
As yet, however, no manufacturer has shifted a legendary marque like Corvette to a hybrid and expected it to carry the torch. Whether hybrids can handle that challenge is a question the latest leak can begin to answer.
Meeting the future with American muscle
At first glance, maybe the most evocative aspect of the 2024 Corvette E-Ray visualization is what isn't there. There's been almost no attempt to modernize or adulterate the Z08's modern classic visuals. This is a Corvette – low-slung, long hood, wide stance. "I'm a hybrid!" signage is limited to a few E-Ray emblems visible if you squint. This is a vehicle proud of its past, intending to stand up proudly for its name. Frankly, hybrid or not, the E-Ray looks more like a classic 'Vette than several gas-guzzling "real" Corvettes we can think of.
The listed stats live up to the styling, too. Unofficial reports promise a 6.2-liter V8 putting out 495 horsepower, which is standard on the current Corvette Stingray. The electric front axle, which Chevy calls an "e-booster," is estimated to add 200+, edging the total toward 650 bhp (via Muscle Cars and Trucks). That would be far and away the most powerful stock Corvette ever made, outstripping even the 2023 Z08. For even more performance pedigree, Chevy has slated the E-Ray to be the first all-wheel-drive Corvette; its predecessors have all been RWD (via Jalopnik).
Further details are thin on the ground – there's only so much info to glean from what is fundamentally a leak of computer-generated pictures. That said, big companies often respond to major leaks with new info. We'll be excited to see what GM cares to share in the coming weeks.