Official: the £153k, 634bhp Corvette E-Ray hybrid is coming to the UK

teamzr1

teamzr1

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Say a cheery good day to the Chevy Corvette E-Ray, which will arrive in the UK in September wearing a £153,440 sticker for the coupe, or a £159,230 tag for the convertible.

It'll also wear a mid-mounted, nat-asp 6.2-litre small-block V8 sending 475bhp and 452lb ft of torque to the rear wheels, and an electric-motor bolted onto the front axle for AWD. That motor is powered by a 1.9kWh battery sitting comfortably between the seats, allowing for an extra 159bhp and 122lb ft.
As such, the E-Ray can be driven at up to 44mph in EV-only mode, and even has an Active Fuel Management system that shuts off half the cylinders for improved efficiency.

But that’s not really why you buy a Corvette, is it?
The combined total outputs are as follows: 634bhp, 574lb ft, 0-62mph in 2.9s and a top speed of 183mph.
In short, it’ll be the quickest-ever Corvette to be officially sold in the UK. Unless Chevy decides to unleash the ZR1-X over here.

The E-Ray gets a fancy set of Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, magnetic suspension with up to three settings, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres wrapped around a choice of 20 or 21in alloy wheels.

Chevrolet has also recently updated the interior to remove the sea of buttons that were previously there (although you might spy that the wall is still in place on the pre-facelift car above), so the E-Ray has a cleaner (but still quite driver-focused) cockpit.
Highlights are a 14-speaker Bose audio system and a triple-screen setup, led by a 14in multimedia hub.

There’s a head-up display as standard and an onboard video recorder. Plus lots of tech, such as emergency braking, collision alerts and lane assist.
As you’d expect from a car that costs as much as a base-spec 992 911 GT3.

If the E-Ray doesn’t interest you, though, you can import yourself a right-hand drive Z06 for around £180k.
Or favourite performance car of 2024, the 233mph ZR1, is still out of bounds for now.
 
teamzr1

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Last weekend was another pivotal moment for the Corvette E-Ray, Chevrolet’s first AWD sports car. The car officially made its debut in the United Kingdom at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ahead of its going on sale with a right-hand drive model in the UK.

The E-Ray becomes the third C8 model exported to the UK, behind the Stingray and Z06. It will be available to order in both Coupe and Convertible body styles, and they will start at £153K ($204,847 USD) for the Coupe and £159K ($212,880 USD) for the Convertible. The first customer orders are scheduled to arrive in September.

Executive Corvette Chief Engineer Tony Roma did a presentation on the E-Ray at Goodwood, and the word is that the Ford guys next door choose that time for some convenient revving of their Mustang GTD. But that’s all in good fun between the two rival automakers.

Roma also talked with pistonheads.com about the Corvette’s AWD system and as far as the E-Ray goes, there are no plans to introduce a plug-in element to the first electrified Corvette.
“It’s a lot of work to do plug in, a lot more safety and regulatory stuff to do PHEV,” says Roma. When comparing the E-Ray’s eAWD to that of the new 1250-hp ZR1X, the ZR1X uses a higher voltage with the same 1.9kWh battery, which produces 26hp and 20 lb-ft of torque more than the E-Ray. The obvious question was apparently asked about the E-Ray gaining that same front wheel performance, and his answer brought a smile to our faces. “Absolutely. Stay tuned on that. Not for ‘25 or ‘26, but some day in the future.”

Tony also touched on the E-Ray’s Carbon Fiber Wheels from Carbon Revolution. They will be an option for U.K. E-Ray buyers, just like the Z06. Tony believes the rims are worth a second a lap due to reducing unsprung mass, and that can transform the car with better ride and handling. ““We sell about as many as Carbon Revolution can make at the moment”, he reckons, with about 15 percent of US customers going for them. They’d surely be the ideal accompaniment to those ceramic rotors for the ultimate in unsprung gains…”

Pere Brugal is GM Europe’s Managing Director and President and he told pistonheads one of the biggest issues facing Corvette sales is the lack of dealerships as there are no dedicated Chevrolet dealers located in the U.K. Currently, third-party dealers Lumen Automotive and Arnold Clark are allowed to resell the Corvette, but apparently Corvette sales are limited to just four cities: Shrewsbury, Altrincham, Birmingham, and Glasgow.

Pere says GM was always planning on offering the three-car lineup with the Stingray, Z06, and the E-Ray. “GM has invested heavily over the past five years in traditional V8 engines and also on EV technologies and platform”, says Pere. “It felt natural to bring them both together.” With a hybrid resurgence happening in the U.K., he actually expects to see more E-Rays sold there as a higher percentage when compared to other markets.
 
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