MT CONFIDENTIAL

That electric-powered Corvette crossover you all thought you saw lurking in the shadows during design chief Mike Simcoe’s segment of GM’s 2021 CES keynote presentation? It’s for real. To be built on GM’s new Ultium BEV architecture and expected Arriving before the first-ever electric Corvette crossover is the first ever Corvette hybrid: the C8 E-Ray. The E-Ray will be to the C8 lineup what the Grand Sport was to the C7: a Corvette that’s sharper and faster than the regular model yet still affordable and accessible as a daily driver. But what makes the C8 E-Ray radically different from the old C7 Grand Sport is that its increased performance won’t be the result of tweaks to the 6.2-liter V-8 engine, but of a front-mounted electric motor that is said to develop 215 hp. With all-wheel drive and a total system output of close to 590 hp, the E-Ray will be quicker to 60 mph than the forthcoming C8 Z06, Detroit sources say. It’s not all bad news for the Z06, though: With its high-revving naturally aspirated quad-cam V-8 and track-tuned chassis, the rear-drive Z06 will still be quicker overall. Photos of a high-riding Porsche 911 spotted on roads around the company’s Weissach R&D center have prompted speculation the company is working on a 992-series 911 for fans of gravel roads. Likely to be badged the 911 Safari, it wouldn’t be the first 911 designed to get down and dirty: Porsche built a high-riding version of the 911 SC for the 1978 East Africa Safari Rally, and the all-wheel-drive 953 was built for the 1984 Paris–Dakar Rally. Porsche teased a 911 Safari concept in 2012, but the unique rear bumper spotted on the 2021 prototype suggests the company may be serious about production.