2020 Chevy C8 Corvette may get hybrid or electric variants, report says

The eighth-generation 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is finally here. Rocking a brand-new shape and posting some impressive acceleration figures, even the base model of the C8 Corvette looks to be an absolute riot. But this is only the start of Corvette Fever, and a new report suggests future variants of the C8 might get some new-age tech.

Chevrolet has already said the C8 Corvette is designed with potential electrification in mind, but at the launch of the 2020 Corvette, Autocar asked a member of the Chevy team if it would be obscene to assume that an electrified Corvette might sport a mild-hybrid powertrain or use a front-axle electric motor to add all-wheel drive. The response was pretty telling: "You would not look stupid if you said that," Autocar reports the Corvette team member saying.

Autocar decided to take things one step further and ask President of GM Mark Reuss if a battery-electric Corvette was in the cards. His response was also surprisingly open: "We'll see. Stay tuned," Reuss told Autocar.

While it might be ages before we see a fully silent Corvette whipping around Milford, more reasonable half-steps in electrification make sense. A mild hybrid would be the easiest, as it requires the smallest battery and motor combination. An all-wheel-drive Corvette might sound like heresy, but the front axle would be the easiest place to slap a larger electric motor, although it's unclear exactly where a larger battery (one suitable for a plug-in hybrid, for example) would live under the body.

Even though the future is looking bright (and green) for the Corvette, the present is looking mighty appealing, too. The LT2 6.2-liter pushrod V8 makes 495 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque, enough to shove the mostly aluminum C8 Corvette to 60 miles per hour in less than 3 seconds (when equipped with the optional Z51 performance package). And with a starting price south of $60,000, it sounds like an absolute bargain.

2020 Chevrolet Corvette blends the new and the familiar

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