GM recently unveiled a new hybrid car in the form of the Chevy Corvette E-Ray. Many thought this car should have been an all-electric supercar, but it’s not.

In fact, the E-Ray brings a typical hybrid powertrain, not a plug-in version. When it arrives, this car will be the only traditional hybrid vehicle in the entire GM family, which makes it unique, but is it good enough to be special? How does a sprint time to 60 mph of 2.5 seconds, 10.4 seconds to finish a quarter mile, and a 180 mph top speed grab you? Is that special enough?

It’s a Strange Time for a Hybrid

While most automakers are passing over traditional hybrid vehicles to make PHEVs better or going all-in for EVs, GM brings us a supercar with a regular hybrid powertrain. It seems at odds with the future of a company that has promised to build only electric vehicles by 2035, but that’s where we are. The answer to why we have a regular hybrid Corvette date back five years from when the development of this car began. GM was far enough along that it would have been counterproductive to turn back; here we are.

What does the new Chevy Corvette E-Ray bring to the table? Let’s dig deeper and find out.

The Corvette brings back a front engine

We just got used to the C8 model with the engine in the middle of the car. Has Chevy gone backward and put the engine in the front of the car? Not the gas-powered engine, but the hybrid electric engine is sitting on the front axle. This not only gives us a hybrid Corvette, which is a first, but it also provides us with an AWD Corvette, a second first for this amazing sports car.

Power reaches close to Z06 levels

The Chevy Corvette E-Ray uses the traditional 6.2-liter V8 engine plus a 160-horsepower electric motor to produce a total of 655 horsepower. The Corvette Z06 has its own specialized engine that delivers 670 horsepower. That small power difference could have some customers looking seriously at the new E-Ray as the hybrid supercar they want to drive. The E-Ray has the advantage of AWD, which the Z06 doesn’t bring to the track. Could this hybrid model turn faster laps because power is sent to all four wheels? A race between these two Corvettes could be interesting.

Is there a silent mode?

Typically, traditional hybrid cars require the gasoline engine to work to charge the hybrid batteries and send power to the electric motor. Has Chevy taken hybrid technology a little further? We’re being told there’s an EV-only function to this car which would allow the car to be nearly silent when you come home late at night. Most people won’t buy this car for the silent way it can ride through the neighborhood, but it’s nice to know you won’t wake the neighbors when you come home late during the week.

The fastest traditional hybrid car

Most hybrid cars are made to save fuel and aren’t looked at as high-performance machines. A few European supercars have hybrid motors, but not many. The electric motor of the new Chevy Corvette E-Ray is geared out when the 150-mph mark is reached, but the V8 engine continues to accelerate and bring this car to a top speed of 180 mph. That said, when did you hear about a Toyota Prius hitting 150 mph? Most likely, that’s never happened, which makes this new hybrid supercar a special model for some high-performance fun.

The E-Ray has a unique wheel and brake combination

The Corvette E-Ray is breaking glass ceilings all over the automotive world. This is not only the first hybrid Corvette and the first to have AWD, but it has a unique wheel and brake combination. More specifically, the tires and brakes aren’t a combination we’ve seen before. This supercar uses carbon-ceramic brakes and a set of all-season tires. The brakes are Brembo six-piston models up front and four-piston brakes in the rear. The wheels are staggered, as expected, with 20-inch wheels in the front and 21-inch models in the rear. These wheels wear all-season tires, giving this car a unique combination.

You never have to plug in the E-Ray

Chevy developed plug-in hybrid powertrains for the former Volt, which was a hit but chose a traditional hybrid powertrain for the Corvette E-Ray. This is entirely in the name of performance, which Chevy felt would be better from this setup. The 1.9-kWh battery is only good for a few EV miles, but it adds juice during some of the hottest rides. The system gains energy from the regenerative braking system and during coasting, which keeps the entire system going strong.

The E-Ray could be a more economical ‘Vette

In addition to the hybrid powertrain used in this new Corvette, engineers gave the engine the benefits of cylinder deactivation. Typically, if you’re driving this car below a consistent speed of 70 mph, you’ll only use four cylinders to get things done. This helps to save fuel in a car that’s not considered an efficiency champion. Could the new Corvette E-Ray be the most efficient version of the Corvette that we’ve ever seen? It’s certainly possible. Of course, if you’re traveling the interstate at higher speeds, you’ll use all eight cylinders and burn more fuel.

Adding a hybrid motor adds a lot of weight

We know electric vehicles are much heavier than their gas-powered counterparts, but how much weight does a hybrid motor add? The small hybrid motor and battery for the Chevy Corvette E-Ray add about 300 pounds to the car when compared to the Z06. Some of this weight comes from the larger engine block, but 300 pounds is 300 pounds. The Z06 coupe weighs 3,666 pounds, and the convertible tips the scales at 3,799 pounds. That means the convertible version of the E-Ray will be the first Corvette to weigh more than 4,000 pounds and it could be the fastest version of this car ever made.

The 2024 Chevy Corvette E-Ray is heading to the market with a special hybrid powertrain, AWD, and a slew of qualities that we’re sure to love. Will this car grab your attention when it arrives?