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Move over Porsche, there may be a Corvette SUV coming

You may soon be able to purchase an electric Corvette SUV

Joel Patel
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Few nameplates are as historic or carry as much weight as Chevrolet’s Corvette. Since 1953, the Corvette has been seen as America’s sports car with two doors, powerful engines, two rear seats, and power going to the rear wheels. The Corvette formula has remained constant since its inception. With Ford spinning the Mustang into an electric SUV and the Hummer turning into an all-electric spinoff under the GMC brand, Chevrolet believes that now is the time to use the Corvette name for its own sub-brand.

The news comes from unnamed sources that spoke with Car and Driver, who claim that several new versions of the C8 Corvette are in the works, including possibilities like the E-Ray hybrid, ZR1, and Zora hybrid. Chevrolet is even looking into an all-electric Corvette EV that utilizes General Motors’ Ultium batteries and architecture. If we’re honest, these Corvette spin-offs don’t sound radical.

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 side profile parked in front of dark, stormy clouds.
Chevrolet

Thanks to its newfound performance from gaining a mid-engine design, the Corvette offers more performance than before with the current Z06 getting close to being a supercar. Exotic supercars have started to gain electrified powertrains, like the new Ferrari 296 GTB, to increase performance and slightly improve fuel economy in the process. Adding an electrified powertrain would raise the Corvette’s playing field to match exotic vehicles.

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Where things get really spicy is when Car and Driver claims that Chevrolet’s plans include a new Corvette brand. The brand will see the Corvette name expand beyond sports cars and be used on a four-door coupe, as well as a crossover. The outlet believes that both of these models will be all-electric.

Sure, sports cars like the Corvette draw consumers in and give people a goal for when they retire or when they’re going through a midlife crisis, but limiting the nameplate to a single body style means that Chevrolet is missing out on a boatload of potential profits.

2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 rear end angle from driver's side driving on the road in front of a body of water with clouds in the back.
Chevrolet

Porsche is a great example of how much money an automaker can get when it expands to new body styles, as the Cayenne and the Macan have quickly become the brand’s best-selling vehicles by a wide margin. Porsche sold over 22,000 Macans in 2021, but only about 10,000 911s.

Chevrolet does run the risk of diluting the Corvette name by coming out with more models and body styles under a new sub-brand, but things have gone well for Ford with the Mustang and Mach-E, despite the dumb name. Plus, the allure of making money is too great to worry about upsetting the few that actually care about things like names.

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Joel Patel
Joel Patel
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joel Patel is a Northern Virginia native that became enamored with cars at a young age when he was tasked with holding the…
The first hybrid, AWD Corvette E-Ray is here — and some people won’t be happy
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Chevrolet Corvette fans that believe the sports car should have a V8 engine at the front and drive going to the rear wheels will not be happy with the 2024 Corvette E-Ray. In fact, if you belong in this camp, you might want to look away. Chevy has ensured the Corvette will have a place in its lineup as it shifts its focus toward all-electric vehicles by introducing a hybrid model with all-wheel drive (AWD).
It’s a massive departure from Corvettes of the past, but, more importantly for people that aren’t afraid of change, the new configuration brings impressive performance. The Corvette E-Ray brings a lot of firsts to the Corvette family. It’s the first Corvette ever to be electrified. It’s also the first Corvette ever to have AWD. While people can bemoan the changes, there’s no denying the effectiveness that AWD and electrification bring, as the E-Ray is the quickest Corvette ever made.

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Porsche begins production of eFuel that could revolutionize gas-powered cars
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While most automakers are looking to completely ditch gas-powered vehicles and make an immediate switch to electrified vehicles, Porsche has been working on a way to keep gas-powered engines alive. Instead of looking at the engine and blaming its design for being harmful to the planet, Porsche has focused on the fuel that powers the engine. The brand has been working on an eFuel that would make internal-combustion engines friendlier to the planet. Porsche recently announced that a pilot plant in Punta Arenas, Chile has started to produce the brand’s climate neutral eFuel that could replace the gas that we know and love in our modern cars.
It’s taken Porsche roughly five years to get to this point. The German automaker has been working with numerous companies, like global eFuels company HIF, ExxonMobil, and Siemens Energy to explore the possibility of using Chile’s renewable energy sources and shipping opportunities for an eFuel.

The pilot plant in Chile will reportedly be making around 34,000 gallons of eFuel, which will mostly be used for promotional reasons. The first vehicles to be powered by the new eFuel will be cars that race in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series. After that, the eFuel will head to vehicles used at Porsche Experience Centers worldwide. This will give consumers that visit one of Porsche’s driving centers first-hand experience with the eFuel, which is a smart way to win them over to the possibility of a cleaner fuel.
Once the pilot phase is over, Porsche has plans to boost production of eFuel at the Punta Arenas plant to 14.5 million gallons each year by the middle of the decade. Two years later, Porsche hopes that its eFuel production can grow to 145 million gallons.
Porsche is one of the few automakers that’s looking into eFuels, as it believes that the alternative fuel is part of its “double-e path” that includes eFuels and e-mobility. The science behind eFuels is confusing and quite sciency, but they’re a type of synthetic methanol that’s produced from a complex process that utilizes carbon dioxide, water, and hydrogen via a renewable energy source.

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This is everything we know about the 2024 Chevy Corvette E-Ray
Chevy's electrified sports car will debut later this year
2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 front end angle passenger's side parked on a track with dark clouds in the back.

Chevrolet has some ambitious plans for the Corvette nameplate in the future. The automaker wants to come out with a Corvette sub-brand that will include an SUV, a four-door coupe, and an all-electric model. While those vehicles are still a few years away, Chevrolet confirmed the arrival of a hybrid version of the C8 Corvette last April that’s expected to go on sale this summer.
While there’s a lot we don’t know about the upcoming 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, we do have some information on the electrified sports car. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Corvette E-Ray.

Will it be called the E-Ray?
Yes. It looks like Chevy’s serious about using the E-Ray name for its upcoming electrified Corvette. General Motors has trademarked the E-Ray name since 2015 and renewed it in August 2020. While trademarks don’t always translate to real-life things, we’re pretty certain the upcoming vehicle will be called the Corvette E-Ray.

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