Chevrolet wins award for hybrid supercar concept
To celebrate its centennial, Chevrolet debuted at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show a hybrid supercar concept with the styling of a jet fighter but the fuel consumption of a Volt.
The mid-engine sports car has been electrified. To celebrate its centennial, Chevrolet debuted at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show a hybrid supercar concept with the styling of a jet fighter, but the fuel consumption of a Volt. The design won the award for Best Concept Car at the show.
The Mi-ray (which is Korean for the word "future") roadster blends and updates styling cues from past sports cars, like the 1963 Monza SS and 1962 Corvair Super Spyder. Designers at the GM Advanced Design Studio in Seoul gave the Mi-ray LeMans-style scissor doors, an open top, and a chiseled yet aerodynamic body to achieve the look of a jet fighter, while balancing the designs of past and future Chevy models.
As with most supercars, carbon fiber is the name of the game. The body is constructed using the lightweight material and CFRP (carbon fiber-reinforced plastic), as are the Mi-ray's spoilers. The cockpit-inspired interior is surrounded by a carbon fiber shell, and even the 20-inch wheels in front and 21-inch wheels in the rear are made of aluminum-carbon fiber composite.
Located primarily behind and beneath the driver are two front-mounted 15kW electric motors powered by a 1.6kWh lithium ion battery. Electric motors will propel the vehicle for in-city driving. For performance driving, the Mi-ray can switch from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, and its 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine mounted behind the cockpit combines with the electric motors to provide torque control to the left and right rear wheels as needed. GM offered no details on fuel consumption or speed.