As many of you are likely aware by now, General Motors has been rumored to be developing a series of “alternate” Corvette offerings, including sedans and SUV’s, as they look to transition the Corvette model into its own marquee. Yesterday, our friends at GM Authority shared a story that strongly suggests that the first of these new Corvette offerings – an all-electric Chevy Corvette – could be on its way.
Here’s what we know so far…
A few years back, General Motors (along with several other automotive manufacturers) made a commitment to transition many of their light-duty vehicles to an all-electric powertrain by 2035. Although global consumer demand for electric vehicles has waned considerably since this announcement was made, GM has continued its mission to meet this commitment…and despite widespread criticism from Corvette enthusiasts around the world, the Corvette (at least one version of it) may enter the frey with an all-electric model hitting dealership floors within the next couple of years.
According to a recent report published by MotorTrend, GM plans to unveil a new electric Corvette concept before the end of 2024. While specific details are limited, the publication stated that the latest concept model from GM will be recognizable as a C8 Corvette, but will also include design cues from earlier iterations of America’s Sports Car. The unveiling of the concept car will be used to gauge consumer interest from a wide demographic of would-be consumers, but with specific focus on younger buyers. It has also been reported that the “retro styling” on the concept is specifically targeted to attract older, long time Corvette enthusiasts and consumers.
MotorTrend also stated that an ICE Corvette SUV crossover has also been “green lighted” and could be revealed to consumers as early as 2024. While the Corvette SUV is targeted at consumers who need the versatility of an SUV, it is believed that the Corvette SUV will continue to offer sports-car like performance akin to that found in other brands, such as the BMW’s X4 /XM, and Porsche’s Macan / Cayenne models.
Returning to the all-electic Corvette sedan model, general concensus indicates that the latest Corvette will be based on GM’s BEV Prime Platform and will incorporate next-generation GM Ultium batteries and GM’s Ultium Drive Motors as its sole powerplant. Despite MotorTrend’s earlier claims that this concept car will be revealed in the coming year, GM Authority has uncovered new intel that could push the introduction fo an all-electric Corvette back a couple years, suggesting a reveal as late as 2026. GM Authority also expects that an all-electric version of the Corvette SUV crossover fill follow the launch of the Corvette EV sedan.
One interesting point of note is Chevrolet’s recent announcment to shut down tours at their manufacturing plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. While we suspect that this announcment coincides with the pending arrival of the Corvette ZR1 model, it is interesting that the plant tours have continued without much interruption thru the arrival of the Z06 and Corvette E-Ray models, both of which also required re-tooling to accomodate the alternate technologies that were installed in each of these cars. Further, the ZR1 prototypes already exist, and were assembled at the plant in Bowling Green, suggesting that the discontinuation of plant tours in February 2024 could be a first-step in providing the plant the secrecy it needs to make more radical changes to their manufacturing processes.
Could an all-electric Corvette sedan be around the corner? Only time will tell.
Corvsport.com will continue to provide updates on this developing story as they become available. We welcome any/all feedback on this (and any) Corvette news, and we hope to provide additional details in the coming months as GM continues to move forward with these alternate Corvette programs.
