GM wants you to feel really excited, so go ahead…
Electric cars, the last frontier in the automotive industry – that’s how GM would like you to think about its recent EV Corvette announcement. That’s right, the much-rumored all-electric C8 Corvette has been officially announced. Despite no real information revealed by GM on Monday, many automotive outlets and even mainstream news was just slobbering all over the announcement like a bunch of girls fainting at a Beetle’s concert.
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An electrified C8 Corvette was revealed with a video that dropped on the 25th (I’ve included it in case you’re not sick of it already). In it we see what looks shockingly similar to a C8 Stingray frolicking in the snow. Sure, it’s wearing some camouflage and has tailpipes, or in other words what we’re seeing is the gasoline-electric hybrid which will come out early next year, but nothing makes it immediately distinctive. Maybe the production version will have lightning bolt graphics down the side or something cool like that.
Anyway, we see the C8 Corvette spin its tires a lot as it whips around an arctic test course. Automakers use such grueling tests to see how their vehicles handle the extreme temperatures – they test a lot here in Arizona as well. But the whole time I’m watching the video I’m wondering how many times they would have to stop and recharge the car using a diesel generator if this were the all-electric version. I mean, come on, batteries don’t perform nearly as well in such frigid temperatures, with many EVs seeing their ranges cut by a large percentage when everything turns frozen.
But no, don’t think about that, just feel the emotion of how cool the electrified Corvette is. After all, you’ve been told EVs are automatically superior to those dino-juice-sipping fossils all your neighbors and dumb family members drive. If you pull up to the next gathering with this thing or even better the all-electric ‘Vette, everyone will know how sophisticated and interesting you truly are.
The first electrified C8 Corvette will be the hybrid, rumored to be called the E-Ray. It’s a way for GM to figure out the EV version for later. We’ve already seen hybrid performance cars do extremely well as they blend the best of both powertrain technologies. Plus, you don’t have to worry about range like you would in an all-electric car.
As for the announcement of the all-electric C8 Corvette, President Biden let the cat out of the bag on that one when he was campaigning in 2020. Last summer he claimed he was promised he’d get to drive one. He also sees a leprechaun in the corner of the room, so you’re forgiven if you didn’t take that seriously. GM has finally confirmed the all-electric C8 will be released after the hybrid, but it won’t say when exactly.
I really think they need to name it the Corvette Jolt in keeping with the Chevy Volt and Bolt trend. If anyone at GM is reading this, send this to Mary and do me a solid.
If you really want to show how sophisticated you are by laughing at people stopping at gas stations while you wait half an hour or so for your Corvette to recharge, you might have more waiting to do before the fully-electric C8 Corvette releases.
