Chevy Readying to Set New Performance Benchmark for Corvette

The C8 Corvette’s been a rousing success and Chevrolet appears ready to build on that with several new performance variants, including one that is currently unnamed.

Mark Reuss - Factory Zero 4-6-21 — GM President Mark Reuss laid out the expected cadence of new Corvette variants at GM’s Investor Day conference.

During his Investor Day presentation, General Motors President Mark Reuss laid out the company’s plans for Chevy’s halo vehicle. Much of it centered on information that was either already known or suspected.

However, Reuss threw in a wrinkle, a vehicle he didn’t identify by name, saying only it is the “next step in performance for Chevrolet,” adding “you won’t be able to imagine it from a performance standpoint,” reported Autoblog.com.

What’s coming?

Well, it’s expected the next version of the ’Vette will be an all-wheel drive hybrid that’s been dubbed the Corvette Gran Sport. It would use the 6.2-liter V-8 from the Stingray that puts out 495 horsepower, but then pair with electric motors to push that to about 600 hp and 500 pound-feet of torque.

Then, according to Autoblog, there’s another model coming — one everyone’s been waiting for: the ZR1. While the presentation was blocked to media sitting in on the event, there have been rumors of a new engine, the LT7, that would be ready for 2024 and develop 850 hp and 825 lb-ft of torque.

However, Reuss then began talking about another vehicle — not using the name Corvette, but he did confirm it would use the C8 architecture. This has lead to plenty of speculation across the automotive landscape — could it be an all-electric model?

Reuss confirmed the existence of this beast in while talking about the Z06 on CNBC in April with a post on LinkedIn.com. “Yes, in addition to the amazing new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and other gas-powered variants coming, we will offer an electrified and a fully electric, Ultium-based Corvette in the future. In fact, we will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year. Details and names to come at a later date.”

In fact, it was double confirmed by CEO Mary Barra who pasted his post to her wall with the comment, “It’s official. Electrified and fully electric Corvettes are on their way.”

Corvette was not a high-performance car until Zora Arkus-Duntov fitted it with a V-8 engine and began campaigning Corvettes in racing in the late 1950s.

It’s a Zora!

Without him offering the name, the electrified Corvette — the Gran Sport hybrid — was revealed, but Reuss glossed over the name. However, there’s been another all-electric model rumored to be under development.

The Zora, named after the creator of the original, Zora Arkus Duntov, is suspected to be a 1,000-hp, AWD beast that certainly would “put the world on notice” as to what GM is capable of and “set the standard of the world for performance for Chevrolet.”

The most powerful versions of the Tesla Model S and the new Lucid Air are capable of launching from 0 to 60 in barely 2 seconds — a target the Corvette might aim for, one insider suggested.

Chevrolet’s decision to electrify the Corvette is not unique. Ferrari already offers the SF90 Stradale plug-in hybrid and is developing at least one all-electric model. Lamborghini plans to shift to hybrids over the next several years and has confirmed plans for at least three, possibly four, all-electric models by the end of the decade.