Chevrolet unveils first-ever hybrid Corvette
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's one of the most iconic American sports cars ever made, but now GM is releasing its first-ever electrified version of the Corvette.
The new model called the E-Ray is a hybrid that goes from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds, making it the quickest production Corvette ever.
The name E-Ray, from the electric ray sea creature, is a play on the Stingray name of the base model. The electric vehicle even has a distinctively designed ray-shaped badge on the trunk's lid.
Unlike some other high-performance hybrid cars, the Corvette E-ray is not a plug-in hybrid. Its 1.9 kilowatt-hour battery pack, mounted in a tunnel that runs between the two seats, is charged as the car slows and brakes and, at times, while the car drives.
But this car will cost you -- prices start at $104,000. For that money, you get a 6.2 liter V8 engine paired with an electric motor that produces a combined 655 horsepower and 595 pounds of torque.
The E-Ray is available as a coupe or hardtop convertible.
Chevy unveiled the car 70 years to the day when they unveiled the first Corvette at the Waldorf Astoria.
Production is expected to start later this year.
GM has said that it plans to produce only zero-emission passenger vehicles by 2035, a pledge that implies a fully electric Corvette must be offered at some point if the model line is not to die out.
WABC-TV is your home for the New York International Auto Show.
(CNN Wire contributed to this report.)
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