There’s a lot that goes into making a legitimate supercar. First and foremost, a supercar needs to be wide and low, have flamboyant styling, should be mid-engined, and must offer extraordinary performance. However, there’s more that makes a supercar than sheer performance and styling.

Cars like these need to be the type of vehicle that kids will drool over, take pictures of, and use as smartphone wallpapers. They need to be on posters on bedroom walls. They need to spark excitement, imagination, and give kids the drive to perhaps have the opportunity to drive or own in the future. Supercars are a lot of things, but is the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray a proper supercar?

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Yes, it absolutely is. After recently living with one for a week, it ticks every box to fulfil the supercar criteria, taking the already impressive Stingray and boosting it to all-new heights. With no real competitors at its price point, it’s a no-brainer for those looking for a high-performance car that won’t cost as much as a house.

QUICK FACTS

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops

Chevy started selling the E-Ray in Australia late last year, introducing it alongside the more track-focused Z06. Prices start at AU$275,000 (~$177,000). Obviously, this is not an affordable car by any stretch of the imagination. This starting price is well above the ‘regular’ C8 Stingray range that kicks off from AU$182,000 (about US$116,800) locally. It’s also well up on the $104,900 starting price of the E-Ray in the US, which works out to be the equivalent of just AU$161,000 (US$104,000).

Despite costing a lot more Down Under than in its home market, the Corvette E-Ray still manages to massively undercut its closest competitors. Perhaps its most direct rival is the McLaren Artura, which, like the E-Ray is also a hybrid. Prices for it start at AU$477,310 (US$306,400), meaning you could have a Stingray and an E-Ray for less than one Artura.

Perhaps a slightly more off-beat competitor to the Corvette E-Ray is the new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS T-Hybrid, but even it is way pricier, starting at AU$381,200 (US$245,000). While the E-Ray may not have a regular supercar price tag, it certainly has the performance.

What Makes It Special?

Much like the Stingray, Chevy’s fabulous LT1 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 is still positioned behind the passenger compartment. However, there’s now also a small 1.9 kWh lithium-ion battery pack and an electric motor delivering 160 hp (119 kW) and 125 lb-ft (169 Nm) of torque. This motor, combined with the V8, which itself pumps out 495 hp (369 kW) and 470 lb-ft (637 Nm), gives the E-Ray a meaty 655 hp (488 kW) and 594 lb-ft (806 Nm) of torque. That’s just 36 hp (27 kW) less than the McLaren, but is 121 hp (90 kW) more than the first hybrid Porsche 911.

The performance delivered by the Corvette E-Ray is truly absurd. Unlike every other ‘Vette to come before it, the E-Ray funnels its power through all four wheels, while retaining the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission as other C8 models. For anyone who denies the Stingray as being a proper supercar, the E-Ray is a different beast entirely.

In the US, Chevy boasts the E-Ray can hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.5 seconds, but in Australia, it has a quoted 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time that’s a little more realistic: 2.9 seconds. After playing around with the Performance Traction Management system and making tweaks to the rpm and slip found in the launch control settings, we recorded a best, GPS-verified time of 2.88 seconds in the sprint to 100 km/h, while also running multiple 2.89-second times.

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops

A quick note. Like the Stingray, the E-Ray has an onboard acceleration timer, but as with others in the industry, it’s wildly optimistic. Each time we recorded sub-2.9-second sprints to 100 km/h, the onboard timer displayed a time of 2.2 seconds.

The E-Ray’s verified times eclipse the Artura, which is rear-wheel drive only. Despite being all-wheel drive, getting the E-Ray to hook can be a challenge, as the rear wheels will momentarily lose traction on all but the best road surfaces. When it does hook, the forces push your head back into the seat, and it snaps through the gears with ferocity. It’s borderline frightening how quickly this thing builds speed in a straight line, and this isn’t quite something the Stingray can match.

Rolling acceleration is equally as absurd. A run from 60-120 km/h is dealt with in just 1.99 seconds, pulling from 2nd gear and into 3rd. Aiding in the insane straight-line speed of the E-Ray are massive 345-section Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires at the rear, and 275-section tires up front.

Chevy says the E-Ray has been “designed for all-season performance,” but that does not mean it can deliver all of its performance in the rain. Indeed, as it remains predominantly rear-wheel drive, it’ll spin up the rear wheels if you even look at the throttle with a little too much intent.

It Handles, Too

In adding a battery pack, electric motor, bigger wheels and tires, and the same widebody package as the Z06, the E-Ray gains 254 kg (560 lbs) over the Stingray, tipping the scales at a portly 1,781 kg (3,926 lbs). Make no mistake, this added heft is easy to feel through the corners, but if anything, it actually makes the car feel more planted on the road than the Stingray.

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops

Of course, the big tires and all-wheel drive contribute to the added confidence you get through the bends, but the E-Ray also has a bit more weight up front, sporting a 41/59 front-rear weight distribution compared to the Stingray’s 40/60. It’s not the type of car you’d dare explore the limits with on the road, and doing so would require some serious track time.

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The soundtrack of the E-Ray is also quite interesting. Chevy’s engineers were clearly eager to emphasize the point that this is a hybrid and have pumped in some artificial EV sounds under hard acceleration. The electric motor-inspired sounds combine with the 6.2-liter V8 to produce a cacophony of noise that’s truly addictive. It also sounds a little like a supercharged V8, complete with that whine we all know and love.

Perhaps somewhat disappointing is the fact that the V8 of the E-Ray doesn’t sound as good as it does in the Stingray. One of the things I loved about the Stingray when I drove it a few months ago was the incredible whipcrack sound it would make during upshifts at full throttle. The E-Ray doesn’t deliver this same sound, which is a shame. As if anything, it should have sounded even more raucous than the Stingray. I suppose the Z06 with its 5.5-liter naturally-aspirated flat-plane crank V8 does that job well enough.

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops

All Corvette E-Ray models sold in Australia come standard with the ZER Performance Package that adds the aforementioned sticky Michelin tires and different suspension tuning. A set of huge Brembo carbon ceramic brakes also comes standard across the E-Ray family.

Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 suspension is also equipped on all E-Ray models and adds the Performance Traction Management system. The E-Ray could be used as a daily driver, although even in the most comfortable suspension mode, it remains quite firm. Additionally, the huge tires are prone to tramlining over undulating surfaces and often hook into cambers during turns, tugging at the steering wheel.

Is It Efficient?

Fuel efficiency is better than we expected. We averaged 15.7 l/100 km (equal to 14.9 US mpg) during our time with the car, and while that’s well above the claimed 11.5 l/100 km (20.4 US mpg) over the combined cycle, we drove it most in urban settings and on mountain roads. As with the Stingray, highway efficiency is excellent, and it will happily sit around 8.0 l/100 km (29.4 US mpg). This is thanks to the fact that it operates in V4 mode a lot, even more so than the Stingray.

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The E-Ray also has an EV-only Stealth mode. When you jump inside, you can toggle the driver mode select and select Stealth mode, which will fire up the ‘Vette on electric power alone for 5-6 km (3-4 miles). I used it every morning when leaving my neighborhood, eager not to wake everyone with the thunderous V8.

However, there were a couple of times when the V8 fired into life when I wasn’t expecting it. It’s also a shame you can’t switch to Stealth mode while on the move, so while you can creep down your street when heading out, you can’t do the same when coming home.

The Intangible

Clearly, the performance of the E-Ray makes it fitting of the supercar moniker. But, it’s also the way that people react to seeing it that makes it a certifiable exotic.

During my time with the car, it turned heads everywhere I looked. People walking their dogs would stop and stare in amazement. Even their dogs would look. On multiple occasions, I drove past crowds of people urging me to rev it, to which I happily obliged, pulling in both paddles that let you free-rev the V8.

However, it’s the way teenagers and kids react to the Corvette E-Ray that best exemplifies its status. While washing it outside my house, two kids on bikes rode past and commented how awesome it was, before proceeding to snap photos of it. While cruising past a local playground, two teens started chasing after me, yelling and screaming in excitement as the V8 rumbled past, all while their dads stared on gleefully in the background. Those are the types of reactions that only authentic supercars can get.

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops

A Familiar Interior

The cabin of the Corvette E-Ray is mostly the same as the standard Stingray. I’ve always liked the layout of the C8’s interior, regardless of how controversial it may be. However, it does not feel quite as premium as some European alternatives, particularly those from Stuttgart.

Key upgrades featured on the E-Ray we tested compared to the Stingray included a raft of carbon fiber parts, including on the steering wheel and door panels. It was also equipped with the Competition Sport seats, which I don’t like as much as the slightly larger and more comfortable GT2 seats that the C8 is also available with. The cabin also feels quite cramped, but the bright yellow seatbelts were a nice touch.

At this price point, some of the switchgear feels cheap. The plastic buttons on the steering wheel feel like they could have come from a Chevy Cruze, as do the window switches.

An aspect of the cabin that’s undeniably impressive is the Bose audio system. Packing 14 speakers in what amounts to a tiny cabin, it provides exceptional clarity and great bass, drowning out all the tire roar and the sounds of the V8. The relatively small 8.0-inch infotainment screen isn’t great, but it does offer wireless support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Since we drove the E-Ray, Chevy has updated the C8 for 2026, ditching the wall of buttons, enlarging the infotainment screen, and adding a third display. Opinions on it seem split, but we’ll reserve judgment for now.

Verdict

Chevy took a gamble developing its first all-wheel drive and first hybrid Corvette. It could have been excused for downsizing its engine and relying heavily on electric power. However, it hasn’t done that. This still very much feels like a V8 supercar, albeit one that gets some added shove and traction from the electric motor up front.

Not everyone loves the design of the C8, but it turns heads unlike any other Corvette before it. The E-Ray ticks all the important boxes to be a legitimate supercar and it feels special every time you get behind the wheel. It’s brilliant. But, is it the best C8 to buy? I’m not so sure. The Stingray is AU$93,000 (about US$59,700) cheaper, looks just as exotic, has the same interior, and offers most of the same driving thrills. That’s where my money would go.

Photos Brad Anderson/Carscoops