The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray isn’t your grandfather’s Corvette. In fact, he’d probably decry this car using the nameplate in the first place. That’s because what initially looks like a Z06 model with a busier grille design is actually an all-wheel-drive hybrid. How about that? The E-Ray won’t necessarily stand out at the local country club, but underneath its wide body is a 160-hp front-mounted electric motor that pairs with a 495-hp small-block V-8 from the regular Stingray that together make 655 ponies—just 15 shy of the track-focused Z06. That’s just the tip of the E-Ray iceberg.

With its front-mounted electric motor, the E-Ray represents the return of the front-motor Vette—sort of. Putting it into all-electric Stealth mode also makes the E-Ray the first-ever front-wheel-drive Corvette, but silence breaks above 45 mph or following heavy throttle inputs. That’s when the vociferous 6.2-liter V-8 that powers the rear wheels joins the party, making the first hybrid Corvette also the first with all-wheel drive. The engineers who helped develop the hybrid Corvette said the E-Ray has a top speed of around 180 mph. However, they said that the electric motor is geared out above the 150-mph mark. Still, good luck getting a more traditional hybrid such as the Toyota Prius to go that fast. GM also calls the E-Ray the quickest production Corvette ever built, hitting 60 mph in a claimed 2.5 seconds. If that turns out to be true, it would make it a tenth quicker than the Z06 we tested.

Not only is the E-Ray the first all-wheel-drive hybrid Corvette; it’s also the first car ever sold with both carbon-ceramic brakes and all-season tires as standard. The eBoost-assisted carbon-ceramic discs with Brembo six-piston front calipers and four-piston rear calipers fit inside the roomy 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels, which are shod with all-season rubber that’s sized 275/30 and 345/25, respectively. The Corvette E-Ray’s rear tires are immense. While the 275-section-width fronts are relatively large on their own, the 345-section-width rear tires are gargantuan by comparison. A stickier set for summer driving is also available, but all-season rubber is standard. The E-Ray’s rears are the widest all-season tires ever fitted to a production car.

Chevy engineers claim the E-Ray is about 300 pounds heavier than the Z06 versions. A coupe weighs 3666 pounds and a convertible is 3799 pounds. Simple math suggests the latter will eclipse the 2-ton mark, making the droptop E-Ray the first model to weigh more than 4000 pounds and becoming the fattest Vette ever. The Corvette E-Ray’s hybrid system doesn’t feature a plug, which is to say it has a short electric-only range of just a few miles. That’s by design, as the small 1.1-kWh battery pack stuffed between its passengers is intended to aid performance first and foremost, rather than outright efficiency. Chevy engineers explain that the battery is designed to charge and discharge rapidly. The battery is said to last as long as the car has gas on short and tight road courses.