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Less than a month following a leak on Chevy's configurator website, we're getting an even better look at the C8 Corvette E-Ray hybrid, this time thanks to a handful of spy photos.
What looks to be a seemingly undisguised Corvette E-Ray prototype was caught driving on the road by our spy photographers, giving us our first opportunity to see the E-Ray's design outside of a digitally rendered configurator tool. As we saw with the leak earlier in December, it seems the E-Ray will get a body-c0lor version of the Z06's front fascia, along with the Z06's wider body.
It's out back where things get even more interesting. Instead of the center-mount exhaust design from the Z06, it seems the E-Ray will get the corner-mounted exhaust tips from the base Stingray, adding fuel to the rumor the E-Ray will use the push-rod LT2 engine out of the base Stingray rather than the 5.5-liter flat-plane-crank V-8 found in the Z06. Our spy photographers mentioned the lack of the Z06's V-8 wail when taking these photos, all but confirming the theory.
It's not clear at this time whether the electric motor (or motors) will power the front wheels or help the V-8 power the rear wheels, or both. We suspect the car will have at least one motor up front, going by a teaser video GM released back in April of the car testing on snow.
The E-Ray is expected to take the place of the Grand Sport in the Corvette's lineup, according to rumors dating all the way back to 2020. According to the configurator tool (before it was taken down), the E-Ray will become available in summer 2023. Which means we won't have to wait very long to find out more.
Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
