C8 E-Ray
 

Ending is pretty good. They said, hands down, better than the last NSX.

I think the Corvette team did a great job on the E-Ray, but give me the Z06 all day long for similar money. That said, if I was rich rich, I'd have an E-Ray as a daily driver and the Z06 for the track along with some Porsche GT cars too for good measure. haha.

Lol, those guys had material.

I like what Chevy did with the ERay, in that it really isn't a hybrid per se, rather it's a dual powerplant vehicle.

I was actually wondering the other day why doesn't Honda take the CTR, and add rear electric motors and boom AWD CTR. OEMs always marry the hybrid system to the ICE engine, which in turn creates packaging challenges under the hood leading to compromises to the ICE engine, namely making it smaller. Plus in doing so, effectively replaces/merges the transmission with the electric motor as well, creating a signfiicant hurdle to the business case of the manual transmission. But by decoupling the electric system like how Chevy did with the ERay and therefore going to a dual powerplant setup, you can have a manual transmission CTR as it is now, and add AWD by adding the second electric powertrain to the rear, and have them work in concert rather than symbiotically.

Additionally, you wouldn't need the big, suitcase sized Tesla motors either, perhaps something a little bigger than what Toyota uses in their hybrid vehicles which I suppose are bigger than tradditional rear diffs in ICE AWD cars, but definititely smaller than the Bazooka tube (I'm dating myself) suitcase motors of the Teslas. In most cases, the hybrid variant vs the ICE variant adds anywhere from 150-350lbs, so not a huge penalty when you consider you're getting AWD and more power.

FWD is very efficient and effective once they're up and running going in a straight line for the most part, and since it's starting with a powerful ICE, the electric motors don't have to be on much at all, mostly at throttle tip in and low speeds, so essentially at launch or corner exit zones. Once it's up and running in a straightish line, FWD is pretty effective for the most part especially at this power level and at sub 150mph speeds. I don't need or want it to be RWD (in this case AWD) all the time, only in the times it really matters.

I think in some ways it may actually be easier to add AWD to a FWD car this way, than the traditional way, as indicated by the GRC rear diff issues (a discussion for another thread), so why not? The only answers I could think of are that the hybrid system in almost every normal application effectively replaces in some capacity the transmission or piggy backs off of it, reducing redudancy in some capacity and cost. The ERay and the theoretical CTR hybrid I just described would still require the full blown transmissions. And I imagine there are efficiency gains in having the engine married to one of the hybrid motors/transmission, since the married motor tends to be responsible for alot of what makes the hybrid system work like charging the hybrid battery and regen braking, so you effectively allocate some size to the engine bay, vs making the detached electric motor bigger.

I also think that there would be a power bias to the wheels that the power ICE engine is powering. The Vette lucked out being MR, but in this theoretical CTR it would be FWD bias. Since we cannot simply take a Prius and magically install Plaid motors and have a gas powered, non plug in world killer, the electric motors will unlikely be able to overpower the ICE engine.

But again, at those power levels, I don't think many people are hitting an apex and mashing throttle to the floor anyway, the rear wheels just needs spurts of power, like at exit or at launch, and "full" power is not needed in those situations, and what is really needed is torque anyway, so imagine if the electric motor only made say 160hp, it could be calibrated/tuned to feel like there is a 50/50 power distribution during the times it matters, and revert to essentially FWD when it doesn't, like going straight above 30mph or so.

I imagine in somewhat extreme track situations with capable drivers the hybrid system may not be able to keep up with demand, but most sports cars these days all seem to have some level of issue whether it pulls timing, or diffs overheating...

Anyway, gives me a little hope that manuals will be around a little longer, and I'm totally open to this form of "hybridization".

To bring it back on topic, I bet the ERay in the real world will drive better than the Z06 because low end, instant torque. That was my issue with the Shelby GT350, and the S2000 for that matter, no torque down low, made the car feel very slow, and while redline is accessible in the S2000 hence making it fun, it was not in the 350 and I imagine similarly in the Z06. Yes, the engine is glorious, but if you don't get to hear or feel it whenever you want without risking getting your car impounded, what's the point?

What I wish for is for OEMs to go back to NA ICEs, and then doing the Eray hybrid treatment. You get a peaky, gloriously sounding ICE, with the supplement of instant torque from electric motors, with a manual transmission. Honda was onto something with the CRZ, maybe too little too soon, but imagine if they had a K20A1 AWD CRZ with a manual making 250, 300, 350hp?!?! Ooo sign me up for that.

I would imagine that the short answer is "nobody wants to pay $60k for a hybrid AWD CTR". (okay okay, outside of the morons that paid $20k over MSRP for the FL5 when it came out).

I can't comment on the C8Z, but the C7Z has plenty (450+ ft-lbs) of torque off idle. How much more low end, instant torque does one need?

Well checking the hybrid variant of cars that offer ICE and hybrid usually only adds a couple/few grand, which is pretty affordable considering in many case you're also gaining AWD too. It's when you go to full blown plug in that it gets expensive namely becaus of the bigger battery. Perhaps no one would pay for a 50, or 55k CTR, but maybe they would if it was AWD with 400-450hp.

Another way to to approach this is just use the Accord 2.0 engine and add the hybrid system to it, do enough changes to the ICE engine to make it Type Arrrrrr, and it could feasibly be at the same 40-45k price point.

I can't comment on the C8Z, but comparing the C7 base and Camaro base since they both have the LT1, they felt much more enthusiastic to drive than a GT350. One can never have enough instant power since that's the most accessible power.

Now I am thankful they did not put a 6MT in it or I’d be figuring out my finances to purchase the E-Ray. Who wouldn’t want the Z06 motor over this? But AWD, as you learned with the GRC, has so much more capability in inclement weather. This is the first Corvette that is capable in all weather conditions. This thing will be lapping expensive machinery on a wet track day. I’m looking forward to someone testing the E-Ray in the wet, the snow, etc. Pushing the car instead of parking it until fair weather like most Vette owners ;)

watched a 67 going round a race track other day :heart:

Throttle House seems to always get their reviews right, though I think I would prefer the NSX over the C8 (admittedly due to my own Honda bias).

That said, related but not related, we need to have a serious discussion about that paint color. It is a wide spread plague of absolutely gross on cars these days, and I cannot fathom why it is popular. Primer/battleship grey looks like complete trash on every car, even a C8 Corvette. In fact, I would argue it is much worse to see on a premium car (such as a C8), because you pay a higher price for an upper level car, and it comes with an ugly paint color. Blasphemy. :wacko: