According to CorvetteForum.com, news broke to them earlier today that GM is transferring the entire Corvette engineering team to their autonomous and electric vehicles programs, effective September 1, 2020.
The first question that popped up was “What about the Corvette program’s plans for the C8?” The answer, according to GM, is that the Corvette team that is currently working on all the current planned submodels of the ‘Vette will continue to work on and develop said submodels.
The biggest shift is that they will also be working on future all-electric vehicles for the Chevrolet brand name.
According to Ken Morris, VP of Autonomous and Electric Vehicles, the team is being tasked because GM is “committed to an all-electric future” and that he’s “excited to be putting the team that redefined supercar performance, design and attainability in key roles” to develop future EV’s.
While there are at least two or three planned Corvette C8 hybrid models in the ZR1 (possible), C8 Grand Sport, and C8 ZORA, this may mean that the Corvette C9 might be a fully electric supercar.
The future Corvette C9, however, may be all-electric, and to play devil’s advocate, that may not actually be a bad thing. With higher-end EV’s out there currently able to beat many internal combustion engine supercars in acceleration and handling, and with a slew of EV hypercars on the way with nearly 2,000 HP like the Lotus Evija, electric is being heavily invested in across the globe.
It also pays to remember that when the C7 was introduced back in 2014, the Corvette team was split to have one set working on C7 sub-models, and the other half working on the C8, 6 years before its introduction. By investing now, it’s possible that if the C9 is fully electric, it could turn out to be as great a success as the C8.
