Is this what they call benchmarking?
The much-rumored C8 Corvette E-Ray, which is supposed to pack hybrid power, is red hot. In fact, it’s so hot one of the prototypes apparently caught fire while testing in Spain recently. A short video uploaded by an account called cochespias (that’s “carspies” in English) captured the sad scene. We assume nobody was injured but the prototype wasn’t so fortunate.
Check out more stories of fire and flooding here.
This prototype Corvette caught fire in the Sierra Nevada. That’s not the mountain range in California but instead one named the same thing in Granada, Spain. Maximum elevation of those mountains is 11,414 feet above sea level, so the California mountains dwarf them at 14,505 feet. However, that elevation change in Spain was enough to apparently trigger a catastrophic failure in the American sports car.
During testing, engineers will often push prototypes to failure so they can measure tolerances. Sometimes that results in fires and other serious accidents. This doesn’t mean the new C8 Corvette E-Rays will be like the Ford Pinto, we hope.
Someone has a sense of humor. The song playing in the video is “La Barbacoa” or in English “the barbecue.” The last part of the video shows the charred remains of the ‘Vette. Anyone want a roasted E-Ray?
It’s important to note the E-Ray is just purely a thing of the automotive rumor mill for the moment. We’ve seen so many spy photos and videos which seem to indicate a hybrid Corvette is coming, likely one with a V8 and another with a less-exciting V6, but GM hasn’t confirmed such a thing is in the works. It also won’t comment on the name for the thing it won’t confirm. This sort of cat and mouse game is common in the industry. Normally, we don’t buy too much into the rumors because they’re often off the mark. However, when one of those rumored prototypes catches fire, well that’s just too interesting to not share.
Check out the video for yourself or see in on Instagram.
