The most iconic sports car in history is going electric. At a recent General Motors (GM) Investors Day Event, company president Mark Reuss confirmed that GM is planning to launch an all-electric Corvette by 2025. He is confident that the electric Corvette will have “incredible performance.”
The electric Corvette will be a 4-door liftback model resembling the Porsche Taycan. This is a significant change to the 2-door design of previous Corvette models. The 4-door design could generate substantial revenue for GM in light of Porsche’s success after it introduced 4-door models. There have also been rumors of GM developing an electric Corvette SUV, but according to an April report, no such SUV has been green-lit for production.
The mechanical package of the electric Corvette reportedly includes features like:
• high energy density EV batteries
• advanced software
• efficient inverters
• high-revving electric motors
• a 800-volt electrical system with fast charging capabilities
Additionally, the electric Corvette is expected to include innovative technologies such as staggered packaging, multi-mode four-wheel steering, and torque vectoring.
Earlier this year, GM took a major step toward electrifying Corvettes when it announced the 2024 E-Ray hybrid vehicle. The E-Ray will enable customers to drive distances of about 3-4 miles on electric power alone. The E-Ray is expected to be available near the end of 2023.
One major concern about the electrification of Corvettes is whether too much effort is being spent on producing vehicles that will be too pricey for the mass market. The E-Ray hybrid will have a starting price of $104,295, and industry analysts expect that the all-electric Corvette will have a similar price. As exciting as it is for the Corvette to be electrified, it might not be the right vehicle to focus on if we want to reduce emissions as fast as possible.
