Corvette E-Ray 2026 Review: Price, Specs, Availability

A 1.9-kilowatt lithium-ion battery is packed within the car’s already robust central tunnel, and additional cooling has been added to manage battery temperatures. There is also new software to harmonize all the components.

The hybrid adds 160 bhp for a total system power output of 645 bhp, almost identical to the amount produced by the thunderous ZO6. On top of that, the more obviously aero-oriented Comp-inspired car also dons its wide-body looks, previously optional carbon-ceramic brakes are standard, and the tires are chunky from time to time: 275/30ZR-20s in the front, 345/25ZR-21s in the rear. (Specially developed all-season Michelin Pilot Sports are available.)

riotous design

However, we’re not sure the car’s visuals are on par with the ambition being exercised elsewhere. The Corvette’s design trajectory since its 1953 launch is instructive of American automotive design overall, with the ’60s C2 Sting Ray and ’80s C4 iterations being culturally relative high-points. The latest car is an incoherent riot of competing angles and edges, undeniably dramatic and a crowd-pleaser to judge from the reaction it generated during WIRED’s drive. But still no oil painting.

Courtesy of Corvette

It is also extremely expressive on the inside. It’s easy to get in and out of, the doors open wide, the seats feel more luxurious than those of its more minimalist rivals and are adequately padded. The steering wheel is one of those fashionable square objects, its spurs sloping awkwardly downwards. But the driving position is good, the forward view helped by the fairly slim A pillars. A rear-view camera helps reduce mirror anxiety, usually a difficult thing to achieve in a mid-engined car.

Multi-configurable instrument dials are straight forward, there’s a crisp head-up display, and an angled touchscreen handles the infotainment. Then there’s the rotating central tunnel, along the main edge of which is the switchgear that operates climate control and various other functions. Fearing total ergonomic disaster, it’s surprising to find that all this actually works well in practice.

electric stealth

Given that the Corvette’s V-8 is totemic, the E-Ray’s major hybrid party trick is its “Stealth” mode, which does what it says: enables the car to sneak out of your street under near-silent electric-only propulsion. Its range in this mode is barely a few miles, but still, it’s an electric, front-drive Corvette in essence. What a novelty.

Courtesy of Corvette