When Chevrolet introduced a hybrid system to the Corvette lineup in 2023, creating the E-Ray, many fans were confused. If it was meant to be a performance option, where did it fit alongside the ZR1 and ZR1X? Was this a concession to emissions, or was it a sign of the fabled Stingray getting soft? Promises of silent cruising through neighborhoods and the application of all-season tires didn’t help the situation.
Three years later, the E-Ray is dead, but the hybrid system lives on in the new Grand Sport X. This, though, isn’t intended to be a direct successor. A series of subtle and not-so-subtle software tweaks, plus some additional drive modes and a whole new engine, conspire to create a machine that sounds and feels far more edgy and exciting.
From E-Ray to Grand Sport X
“There were some customers who didn’t necessarily understand the car,” Keith Badgley said of the E-Ray. He was the lead development engineer for that machine, as well as the Grand Sport X and the ZR1X. I spoke with him after spending a few days behind the wheel of the Grand Sport X.
The Grand Sport gets a different electric motor than the E-Ray.
Credit: Tim Stevens
The Grand Sport gets a different electric motor than the E-Ray. Credit: Tim Stevens
The E-Ray, he said, was positioned as something of a grand tourer, a performance machine that mixed big speed and style with all-day comfort and all-weather capability. Owners had other ideas, though.
“We saw that a lot of people were tracking E-Rays, and some of the feedback was that it was a little tight,” Badgley said. A tendency toward understeer is ideal for predictable handling on canyon roads, but it’s less desirable on a racetrack.
Track performance wasn’t at the top of the list of priorities for that particular Corvette. It was, however, the goal for the bonkers 1,250-hp (932 kW) ZR1X. The development of that car created the opportunity to do something a little more special with the Corvette’s hybrid powertrain.
