American company Genovation Cars has revealed its latest full-electric Corvette conversion package with a $1m price tag and spec sheet that's seemingly capable of outperforming the V8-powered sports car on which it's based.
The Genovations GXE (meaning 'Genovations Extreme Electric Car') broke cover at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, U.S.A, and is said to pay tribute to the American Corvette both visually and mechanically.
Designed from the outset to be the world's fastest street-legal, all-electric vehicle, the GXE shares many of the some body panels and the front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout as a Chevrolet C7 Corvette - but that's where the similarities end.
Powered by twin electric motors and twin inverters to control speed and torque, the GXE is said to produce up to 800hp (596kw) and 949Nm of torque, propelling the EV to a top speed of 220mph (354km/h).
The powerunit is a development of the one Genovations used to set a land speed record for a road-legal EV in August, 2017, when an older C6 Corvette-based GXE hit 205.6mph (330.9km/h).
Uniquely, before the power reaches the ground it's sent through either a seven-speed, clutch-operated manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. A traditional drivetrain was purposely selected by Genovations to make the GXE as fast as possible, while maintaining the feel and characteristics of a V8 C7 Corvette.
In either manual or automatic the GXE is capable of accelerating from a standstill to 100km/h in under three seconds.
Five battery packs spaced throughout the hydroformed aluminium frame for optimised balance and weight distribution provide a driving range of more than 280km in normal driving conditions. The GXE weights in at 1859kg. Brembo carbon ceramaic brakes are fitted to deal with the added weight.
Genovations are currently taking preorders for a planed production run of 75 GXEs priced at US$750,000 (NZ $1.05m), plus the cost of the Corvette doner car.
Each will be painted in a one-off color and first deliveries are scheduled for later this year.
With such a hefty price tag, it's unlikely we'll ever lay eyes on one. But if you ever see a silent C7 at an intersection, don't be alarmed when it blitzes everything around it when the light turns green.
