“What is it?” curious onlookers ask as they crowd around the low-slung sports car in the parking lot. Then comes the follow up – “Is that a Ferrari?”
The questions started from the moment I picked up the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray at Sydney Airport. There was a collective “ooooh” as my ride for the weekend rolled up to the Qantas Valet pickup area, while I stood there sheepishly waiting to accept the keys.
Even in a muted shade of grey, the E-Ray is a car that commands attention, just as Chevrolet intended.
After all, it’s different from any other Corvette that has come before.
For the eighth-generation C8 Corvette Stingray, Chevrolet moved the engine from under the bonnet to behind the cabin – a first for the nameplate. More Italian exotic, less American muscle car.
But that wasn’t quite enough for the ambitious product planners at General Motors. Neither was the track-ready Z06, which introduced a flat-plane crank V8 pushing 475kW and 595Nm.
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Our ride for the Corvette Nationals
Because with its first global Corvette, Chevrolet didn’t just want to escape the shadow of Porsche and its best-selling 911. No, it wanted a seat at the table with Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren.
That requires innovation, and the taking of calculated risk.
The result? The E-Ray, with the E standing for electrified. Fancy that – a mid-engine, hybrid Corvette.
It’s a lot to process, even for passionate fans of the brand. Which brings me back to why I flew up to Sydney to drive an E-Ray in the first place.
With the E-Ray only recently landing on Australian soil, GM kindly invited us to steer one of the first examples to the annual Corvette Nationals, a gathering of avid enthusiasts from across the country.
With an awkward airport handover out of the way, my brother James and I embarked on the 358km journey from Sydney to Parkes, a small town in country New South Wales.
And from the outset, we were both impressed with our new companion… but not for the reasons you might expect.
Putting aside the crazy supercar styling, futuristic hybrid powertrain, and street cred, the Corvette E-Ray also makes for a surprisingly practical roadtrip vehicle.
There’s a claimed 357 litres across the front and rear boots – plenty enough for a few overnight bags, or a set of golf clubs if you’re that way inclined.
The weird and wonderful cabin is pretty spacious, too. Once you get past the comical strip of buttons that separates driver from passenger in the cockpit-style cabin, it’s easy to get comfortable, even for a couple of six-footers.
And boy were we thankful for that, because the five-hour drive to Parkes is punctuated by poorly-maintained sections of regional highway that leave no questions about a vehicle’s ride quality.
But before reaching the open road we had to make it out of Sydney, which is easier said than done. The first obstacle – airport speed bumps.
The sight of such traffic devices is usually enough to make any supercar owner shudder, but like all proper supercars this E-Ray has a trick up its sleeve in the form of a nose-lift mechanism.
I approached the first bump with more than a hint of trepidation, but a simple press of the nose-lift button quickly eased my mind. Put simply, the system works a treat. So well in fact that I’m almost inclined to seek out a similar setup for my 2009 Mazda MX-5, which bears battle scars from encounters with an all-too-steep driveway.
Beyond the airport grounds a new challenge presents itself – Sydney traffic. We set sail from Mascot at around 2:00pm on the Friday, well before rush-hour, but even then the E-Ray was forced to contend with long queues leaving the city.
Exotic models of yesteryear (including previous Corvettes) had the tendency to leave drivers hot, bothered, and nursing a splitting headache in such situations, but not the E-Ray.
Although the 6.2-litre V8 sits directly behind your ears, it’s not particularly raucous when driving with restraint.
And, as you’d expect from a car with about 20 buttons dedicated to climate controls, the air-conditioning blows strong and cold.
The carbon-backed black GT2 bucket seats in our tester also offered three-stage heating and ventilation – a feature worth having considering Australia’s unpredictable weather.
Don’t get it twisted, though, because the Corvette is no luxury limousine. Tyre roar is pronounced over older sections of tarmac and visibility is limited, while the lane-keep assist function is too overbearing.
Nevertheless, we were able to escape Sydney with our collective sanity intact, and plenty of energy left to exploit the talents of the E-Ray.
Because after all, this is a car you want to experience on the open road. And as we ascended into the Blue Mountains, that point was well proven.
The addition of a front-mounted electric motor blesses the E-Ray with more grunt than its siblings, and it’s all useable courtesy of power delivery to all four wheels, with the V8 driving the rear axle as it should, and the electric motor driving the front axle to provide more straightline performance and cornering traction.
Rear-drive supercars can be tricky to keep on the straight and narrow, but the E-Ray is surprisingly easy to drive despite its capacity for brutal acceleration.
Better yet, hybridisation has actually improved the Corvette in the sound department. Under throttle the E-Ray produces a familiar guttural V8 roar, paired with piped-in electric motor whine that creates a truly unique aural experience in the cabin.
It’s a one-two punch of performance and noise, a mechanical and electronic symphony… an idiot-proof rocket ship.
When driving in a free flowing manner, the transmission comes into its own, providing lightning fast shifts via a set of carbon-fibre paddle shifters. There aren’t a heap of twisty sections between Sydney and Parkes, but I can also confidently report that the steering is direct and well-weighted.
It probably won’t come as a shock that the E-Ray is a treat to drive, but I for one was surprised to see an average fuel consumption of 10.8L/100km. A Toyota Camry it is not, but that’s pretty damn good for a V8 missile.
As a result, we didn’t even need to fill up along the way. That’s not to say we didn’t make a couple of pitstops.
Because what’s a roadtrip without caffeine and overpriced service station snacks?
After stocking up in Glenbrook, we continued west through the lush forest towards Parkes, taking in the quaint townships dotted along our route.
That was until we emerged from the Blue Mountains and stumbled across an Australian automotive icon – Bathurst.
Could you think of a more fitting place to visit in a V8 Chevrolet supercar?
Despite the tight schedule, we snuck in a brief photoshoot and an obligatory slow lap around the Mount Panorama circuit. I say slow because the public-road racetrack is heavily policed, with a speed limit of just 60km/h.
Nevertheless, the E-Ray felt right at home across the top of The Mountain, and it was a thrill to trace the tyre marks of motorsport royalty.
With a renewed enthusiasm for the remaining road ahead we made tracks for Parkes, the sun setting overhead.
Country NSW threw everything at us during that last leg, from darkness to rain and poorly-maintained roads, but the E-Ray handled it all with grace.
In conditions that weren’t conducive to spirited driving, the interior of the E-Ray came into focus.
Aside from a comfortable set of chairs and excellent aircon, the inside of the C8 Corvette is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the cabin presents far better than Corvettes of old, and it feels special to sit in.
I also appreciated the abundance of connectivity options and liberal use of glossy carbon-fibre.
However, the centre infotainment display appears laughably small within its housing, and there were still some creaks and rattles to suggest sub-optimal build quality.
Those flaws pale in comparison to the joy I experienced over our five-hour journey, which reached its end at North Parkes Motel late that night. One of the great perks of the E-Ray is ‘Stealth Mode’ – the ability to slink into a motel carpark in complete silence, running on electric power only.
Saturday brought with it the main event – the 2025 Corvette National Convention.
Designed to bring Corvette enthusiasts together for a celebration of American muscle, the Nationals is an annual event that attracts cars from all corners of the country.
Held in Parkes this year, the event kicked off with a parade through the centre of town, and didn’t the locals love it!
The convoy rolled on to Parkes Showgrounds, where the main display took place. Now, you’ll have to forgive my ignorance, but I assumed this would be a niche, small-scale meeting.
After all, it hasn’t always been easy to get your hands on a Corvette in Australia.
All generations before the C8 were only produced in left-hand drive, preventing their sale officially Down Under. That means all previous-gen Corvettes in Australia are private imports.
But contrary to my expectations, there was a strong Corvette contingent in Parkes – no fewer than 210 Corvette enthusiasts and 105 cars produced between 1953-2025, to be exact.
That mightn’t sound like a huge number, but it’s impressive considering the hurdles associated with owning a classic Corvette in Australia. First there’s the import process, and then you have to consider a possible RHD conversion, limited parts availability, and the lack of local factory support.
Perhaps that’s what makes the Australian Corvette community one of the most passionate vehicle fanbases I’ve come across. Each owner knows their machine inside out, and collaboration is a necessity to keep cars on the road.
What’s more, one Corvette simply isn’t enough for many of the owners I chatted to. Some had two or more examples, while a fortunate few were proud custodians of a handful.
That’s partly a by-product of the owner demographic – let’s just say we were among the youngest attendees.
There was a healthy mix of models on show, ranging from original C1s to a bespoke C2 Grand Sport tribute, and plenty of C8s. But none quite like our E-Ray.
Being one of the first in the country, the E-Ray immediately drew a crowd. My job was to field any questions from event-goers, of which there were many.
Some asked about the hybrid system, others about the specs and price tag. Traditionalists would search for a reason to dislike this blasphemous electrified ‘Vette.
But at the end of the day, I got the sense that most are impressed by this new spin on the old recipe.
I also took it upon myself to offer a few joyrides. A mix of thrill-seekers took up my offer, including wide-eyed kids, curious prospective buyers, and general fans of the badge.
It’s safe to say the look on their faces when I unleashed all 488kW and 806Nm never grew old. The hybrid eight-cylinder roar and electric motor whine is intoxicating, as is the melt-your-face-off acceleration, and it was fulfilling to share that experience with others.
On a broader level, it was invigorating to see car culture alive and thriving in Australia. Some would have you believe that our collective passion for everything automotive is waning, but events like the Corvette Nationals refute that.
Our tester was parked up alongside a C8 Z06 at the convention, and while the latter was popular for its race car aero and rorty exhaust note, the E-Ray made its own unique impression on the crowd.
It’s a car that champions innovation without alienating long-time Corvette aficionados. Chevrolet could’ve pretended they were saving the world by making the E-Ray a fuel-sipping hybrid sports car or an all-electric technology piece, but instead they have raised the bar for what an electrified supercar can be.
At $275,000 before on-road costs and options, it’s a relative bargain compared to the Porsches, McLarens, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis of this world.
For that reason, I’m confident that when the next Corvette National Convention rolls around there’ll be a long line of E-Rays on show.
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will host the 36th gathering, scheduled for March 20-23, 2026.
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MORE: Everything Chevrolet Corvette