LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Workers in Kentucky will soon manufacture the first electrified version of the Chevrolet Corvette in the sports car’s 70-year history.
The 2024 Corvette E-Ray will begin production at General Motors’ Bowling Green, Ky. plant “later this year,” according to GM spokesman Trevor Thompkins.
Combining a gas engine and battery-powered motor, the E-Ray will be the fastest Corvette to date, going from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, GM said Tuesday.
The car’s rear wheels will be powered by a V-8 engine while its front wheels will be powered by a 1.9 kWh battery pack, delivering a combined 655 horsepower, according to the automaker.
While GM is plowing headlong into electric vehicles, the Corvette E-Ray represents an incremental step toward electrification for the powerful sports car.
GM has not announced a plug-in or pure EV Corvette. The E-Ray’s battery pack charges via regenerative energy from coasting and braking.
The car can run solely on battery power and reach 45 mph for an unspecified “period of time” before the engine kicks on, a feature called “Stealth Mode,” GM said Tuesday.
The E-Ray will go on sale later this year with starting prices of $104,295 for the coupe and $111,2954 for the convertible model, the automaker said.
Meanwhile, GM will continue to make the traditional gas-engine Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06 at the plant, spokeswoman Rachel Bagshaw said.
She was unable to comment on the production mix between the gas and hybrid models.
At about 1,400 employees, GM’s Bowling Green Corvette plant is the smallest of the four primary automotive assembly plants in Kentucky. The others are Ford’s two plants in Louisville and Toyota’s largest factory in the world in Georgetown.
