Once General Motors
GM
already electrified the Hummer, a battery-powered Corvette couldn’t be far behind, and the automaker confirmed it Monday.
GM President Mark Reuss told CNBC that an “electrified” version of Chevrolet’s ultimate sports car will be launched in 2023 with a fully electric Corvette arriving soon after. The first version likely will be some type of hybrid.
“This is in addition to all the great performance that Chevrolet and Corvette have been known for many, many years with our internal combustion engine, so it’s in addition to that,” said Reuss, who did not disclose an exact date for the EV debut.
The all-electric Corvette will use GM’s proprietary Ultium battery platform. The project began about mid-2020 when the automaker reassigned some of the engineers responsible for the mid-engine Corvette to delivery higher performance to future EVs.
GM has said it is investing about $35 billion to transform its entire produce lineup to electric propulsion by 2035.
Today, the company’s EV portfolio consists of the Chevy Bolt, GMC Hummer pickup and Cadillac Lyriq crossover. On the near horizon are an electric Hummer SUV, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Silverado, Equinox and Blazer.
Cadillac expects to offer an all-electric Celestiq in 2023.
Corvette has been defined by raw power and a roaring exhaust. Time will tell whether long-time owners and other performance car aficionados will adapt to a quite version that delivers instant torque.
It will have some challenging performance metrics to match or exceed. The current Corvette Z06 has a 670-horsepower, 5.5-liter V8.
Before the fully-electric Corvette arrives, it is likely there will be a gas-electric or plug-in hybrid model. That version is rumored to offer about 1,000 horsepower from a twin-turbo version of the 5.5-liter V8 with an electric motor driving the front wheels.
Not all Chevrolet models will survive the transition to batteries. GM said recently it will not longer replace batteries for the all-electric Chevy Spark that was first introduced in 2013.
The volume of GM’s EV was constrained because the company is replacing battery packs in about 140,000 Chevy Bolts after reports of about 18 fires forced it to halt production. Other supply chain disruptions have been largely solved,
Bolt production resumed earlier this month.
