{"id":30399,"date":"2023-01-20T17:19:25","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T21:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30399"},"modified":"2023-01-20T17:19:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T21:19:25","slug":"e-ray-qa-chief-engineer-juechter-on-the-first-hybrid-corvette-supercar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/e-ray-qa-chief-engineer-juechter-on-the-first-hybrid-corvette-supercar","title":{"rendered":"E-Ray Q&A: Chief Engineer Juechter on the first hybrid Corvette supercar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Milford<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The Chevrolet Corvette\u2019s first chief engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, is rightly proclaimed \u201cThe Father of the Corvette\u201d for establishing the sports car as a performance icon in the 1950s. But the \u2018Vette\u2019s fifth chief engineer in 70 years, Tadge Juechter, will be remembered as the man who brought Arkus-Duntov\u2019s ultimate dream to reality: a mid-engine Corvette.<\/p>\n

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Arkus-Duntov pushed the mid-engine idea \u2014 prized for its balance and rear-wheel-drive grip \u2014 throughout his 1953-1975 tenure at General Motors with multiple prototypes beginning with the 1960 CERV I. Juechter finally got a mid-engine Corvette approved for the 2020 model year \u2014 in part by arguing that the midship architecture would finally birth an all-wheel-drive Corvette to compete against similar AWD exotics from European manufacturers like Porsche and Lamborghini.<\/p>\n

The 2024 Corvette E-Ray, unveiled Tuesday with a 160-horsepower electric motor driving the front wheels and a good ol\u2019 495-horsepower V-8 driving the rears, is the culmination of that vision. The Detroit News sat down with Juechter at GM\u2019s Milford Proving Grounds to talk about his latest toy.<\/p>\n

TDN: The E-Ray is the third model of the eighth-generation Corvette C8 after the standard Stingray and Z06. Tadge, tell us about it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Juechter: It\u2019s a different mission than the Z06. Even though it is similarly priced, it represents a different value proposition. We\u2019ve long heard from customers they really want AWD to make it a three-or-even-four-season car. We weren\u2019t able to do that with front-engine architecture, but with mid-engine architecture, that freed up space to enable us to do it.<\/p>\n

Starting at the inception of the C8, we thought an electrified front axle was the way to go. It\u2019s compact, and gives us a lot of efficiency. It\u2019s independent of GM\u2019s commitment to zero-emissions. We thought this would be a good idea and pleasing to customers. And it brings a new, higher-level of thinking to the Corvette. The Z06 is mission specific: it\u2019s focused on the track experience, whereas the E-Ray is an all-arounder.<\/p>\n

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We like to say the Z06 is the scalpel \u2014 a sharp instrument for a specific purpose. E-Ray is more of a Swiss Army knife \u2014 it\u2019s good at all sorts of things. It\u2019s capable on track, but a great daily driver, and it\u2019s great in inclement weather. (It\u2019s) a car for anyone who wants an all-around daily driver.<\/p>\n

TDN: Other manufacturers have done hybrid, all-wheel-drive, mid-engine sports cars. There\u2019s the $1 million Porsche 918 and $170,000 Acura NSX that just went out of production in Ohio. How do you make this thing for just $105,000?<\/em><\/p>\n