The First Corvette EV Was Built by Motorola in the 1990s

In the early 1990s, long before the automotive industry was pushing electric vehicles as the next big thing in transportation, telecommunications giant Motorola made an audacious move: it built a fully electric Corvette. Far from the EV experiments of today’s automotive brands, Motorola’s electric 1987 Corvette was a marvel that combined raw power with futuristic engineering. Modified for electric propulsion, the C4 Corvette top-secret prototype boasted a custom-built powertrain delivering over 400 horses, swappable battery packs, and a classic stick-shift transmission. 

Remarkably, this Corvette’s appearance remained almost indistinguishable from its gasoline-powered counterparts, maintaining a perfect stock look. For Motorola—a household name in tech during an era when companies like it held a role similar to today’s Silicon Valley powerhouses—the project was as much a statement of technological vision as it was a showcase of engineering prowess. This article delves into the story behind this pioneering EV, a reminder of a remarkable chapter in Corvette history.