‘Not Something That’s Easy Right Now,’ GM President Says

I’ll cop to some hypocrisy here. As the editor of InsideEVs, I love driving electric vehicles, and I know they’re essential for reducing carbon emissions from transportation in the long run. But as a traditional car enthusiast, I’m not entirely sad when I learn that some gas-powered sports car that I love may be sticking around for a while. 

While EVs offer incredible performance these days, there’s still a substantial penalty to be paid in weight. Batteries are heavy, and that’s the last thing you want in a sports car. And that’s all before you get to traditional sports car attributes that gearheads love, like engine sounds and an engaging gearbox.

General Motors seems to be pretty clear-eyed about all of this. Because while it’s toyed with the idea of an all-electric Chevrolet Corvette before, and has even unveiled concept versions of what form such an EV could take, it’s not in the cards right now, GM President Mark Reuss said recently on InsideEVs’ Plugged-In Podcast. 

But don’t think the idea isn’t viable.

“I think it can be done,” Reuss said. “We’ve shown a slew of concept cars that were electric-based. I wouldn’t say the propulsion system is something that was true to form on those concept cars, but [they were] very interesting and allowed us to do a lot of different things with form and design and the aesthetic piece.”

At the same time, “an all-electric Corvette that can do what a Corvette is supposed to do is not easy right now. What I’m talking about is, when you get into mass, from a vehicle dynamics standpoint, when you get into thermal performance… you can make advances in those, which we have. But I’m not sure the character of the Corvette, and our buyer of the Corvette, is ready to be the recipient of that effort quite yet.”

Put more simply: when you add in the weight pentalty from batteries and range losses in high-performance driving, plus perhaps even the instant torque of an EV, you may end up with something that’s not quite in character with GM’s high-revving V8 sports car. 

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Source: Chevrolet

“But, if a day comes with technology changes, [more] lightness, things like that are more achievable, then it seems like it could it be more in line with those values potentially,” Reuss said. “They could be, absolutely. But not yet. That’s why we’ve got to keep investing in technology and R&D.”

Broadly speaking, automakers have made tremendous inroads with thermal managment on EVs. Many new high-performance electrics boast incredible feats, like the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s Porsche-crushing Nürburgring times or BYD’s 300 mph electric supercar. And a great emphasis across the industry is being placed on making lighter EV batteries, perhaps even via solid-state batteries, which could solve many problems at once. 

But can all of that be applied to a Corvette anytime soon, and in a way that LT-series engine fans will find enticing? All of that seems unlikely. While there are plenty of fast EVs these days—including in the GM portfolio—Corvette fans are in it for a certain reason and right now, that’s very hard to replicate using battery power. 

Then there’s the question of buyer readiness. Look no further than the Dodge Charger Daytona, which is unfortunately turning out to be quite the flop. Sure, it’s fast, but plenty of EVs are fast. And the engine noise simulations are amusing, but ultimately kind of a party trick. (There’s also the high price tag and the fact that it’s just not very good at doing EV-things.) Certain cars are just defined by their engine and handling characteristics, and it’s not been easy to get them to go electric. 

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Source: Chevrolet

Having said that, Reuss seems very optimistic about the future of electrification for the Corvette. And the new Corvette ZR1X is a great example. The range-topping, AWD hybrid Corvette delivers 1,250 horsepower thanks to a 5.5-liter twin-turbo LT7 V-8 engine paired with a 1.9 kWh battery. The results are hard to argue with. 

Reuss, a noted gearhead and racer, said he’s driving one right now. “And that’s pretty awesome,” he said. 
“That’s using electricity to do the right things. Using it for power, using it for speed, using it for ride and handling, using it for traction, is a great use of electricity on a Corvette.” 

Perhaps one day, that V8 will give way to a battery pack. But that day isn’t today.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com