Confirmed! Hybrid-electric Corvette E-Ray coming to Australia!

The world's first hybrid-electric Chevrolet Corvette - the E-Ray- has been confirmed for Australia ahead of the supercar’s reveal this Tuesday, January 17.

Speaking to CarsGuide, a spokesperson for General Motors Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) revealed that the E-Ray will indeed becoming Down Under.

“It is with great excitement that we can confirm that the next-gen Corvette, the E-Ray, will make its way Down Under. Stay tuned for more details,” the GMSV's spokesperson told CarsGuide.

The great news for Aussies comes just hours after Chevrolet teased a video of the E-Ray giving us the best look yet at the upcoming hybrid supercar.

The 24-second clip shared on Corvette’s social media accounts shows the upcoming E-Ray drifting on a snow-covered road through a forest. We’re then shown a shot of the cockpit with the driver selecting ‘Stealth’ mode before speeding through deserted city streets at night with an accompanying electronic synthesised motor sound effect. 

While the clip is short and cryptic there are a few important gems to be picked up here.

Snow - because the E-Ray will be all-wheel drive with an electric motor powering the front wheels and a petrol engine powering the rear ones.

And Stealth Mode meaning that around town you’ll most likely be able to drive the E-Ray using just the ‘silent’ electric motor, until the charge runs out. 

The E-Ray is the first step for Corvette into the world of electrification and while its engine and motor specs are still shrouded in automotive secrecy we have a few ideas about what to expect. 

You’ll most likely be able to drive the E-Ray using just the ‘silent’ electric motor, until the charge runs out. 

The engine will most likely be the 6.2-litre V8 LT2 petrol engine 370kW/640Nm from the current Corvette C8, while the motor is rumoured to be an 85kW unit at the front axle.

We’ve seen spy shots of the E-Ray testing in prototype form, but this latest clip is of what appears to be the production ready car which will finally be revealed on January 17. 

That date is an important one in Corvette history. It was on January 17, 1953 that the world was first introduced to the very first Corvette, the C1, in its concept guise at General Motors’ Autorama. 

Releasing the first ‘electric’ Corvette exactly 70 years since the first Corvette is meaningful timing, and Chevrolet hopes to follow it with the first fully electric Corvette at some point in the next few years.

CarsGuide will keep you up to date on when the E-Ray is to come to Australia, but Aussies keen to get into a Corvette can buy the latest Stingray through General Motors Speciality Vehicles (GMSV). The Australian Stingray pricing starts at $144,990 for the 2LT.