2024 Corvette E-Ray Loses Out to $508,000 V6 Ferrari in R&T’s Performance Car of the Year Super Test

Well, it was bound to happen at some point. After the Z06 swept automotive awards season a year ago and the E-Ray was off to a hot start in 2024, the Crossed Flags have finally found themselves outside the winner’s circle of a major performance accolade, curtsey of the latest from Maranello.

For the first time in the event’s history, PCOTY was split into two price-based groups, and due to the sad state of attainable fast Chevys, the E-Ray landed solidly in the over $100k fighting class. This meant squaring off against a Porsche 911 – that actually undercut the ‘Vette by nearly $20,000 on price – a pair of Italian exotics, and an insane one-seater called the BAC Mano instead of getting to beat up on the BMW M2, Mustang Dark Horse, Nissan Z Nismo, and the eventual five-figure champion Acura Integra Type S like the previous Grand Sport would have if earlier renditions of this test were also segregated.

Even amongst the heavy hitters, the E-Ray proved to be a thoroughly impressive achievement and, perhaps, even the ultimate embodiment of everything that we’ve come to expect from America’s Sports Car. The Corvette of firsts drew strong responses for its speed, with Deputy Editor Raphael Orlove saying, “It launch controls harder than a Tesla and puts my eyes back in their sockets and makes my brain slosh around in my skull. Worrying speed and the pull of the front axle can be felt,” and newly appointed Editor-in-Chief Daniel Pund remarking, “…excellent transitional response and a nice transmission even in full-auto mode. The EV power blends smoothly and makes a wicked sound. It’s like the scream of the Valkyries taking you home to Valhalla.”

R&T staff would continue with a couple of blurbs that should put all reservations about the hybrid powertrain and the E-Ray’s legitimacy as a “real Corvette” to bed, starting with “On the track, it knocked out a drama-free 1:19.1 lap,” for context, that’s more than three-seconds faster at Thunderhill than the Mustang or the Porsche, but it trails the Ferrari by nearly two ticks, “on the road, it transforms into a Caprice Classic delivering a cushy ride sure to please the newly retired who bought their dream Corvette and need all-wheel drive” and slamming the door on our doubts with “Electrification feels like a bonus, not a complication.”

What could possibly be better than that? Well, last year’s Z06, for starters. Especially when considering the Hybrid’s as-tested price nearly hitting $150,000, R&T couldn’t write about the E-Ray without bringing up the Gemini Project’s high-revving LT6, admitting that the “E-Ray lacks the maniac edge of its brother, the Z06. And R&T seeks out maniacs.” Then, as you should have surmised by now, there was the [deep breath] Ferrari 296 GTB Assetto Fiorano. The Prancing Horse’s V8 lineage that inspired the current Z06 has given way to a twin-turbo V6 and Ferrari’s take on an E-Ray-like hybrid system. Unlike the E-Ray, Ferrari’s hybrid retains the RWD layout of its predecessors. Its 3.0L V6 falls just one pony shy of the E-Ray’s overall output by itself, and conspires with its batteries for a total of 819 horsepower. In “Ass-Fior” spec, the 296 also swaps out its GM-famous magnetic dampers for fixed-rate Multimatic spool valve units as seen in Formula 1 (and underpinning all 2014-15 Camaro Z/28s and 2018-24 ZL1 1LEs).

While “$507,751” and “V6” isn’t a mixture that immediately fills most gearheads with envy, the top-dog 296 can make most – though maybe not Enzo Ferrari, himself, if he were around today – reconsider that hesitation. Even with the hefty electric stuff onboard, the 296 is reportedly able to just about match the weight of a C8 Z06 at around 3,530 lbs. And, somehow, it can hook up off the line, too, with a 2.4-second trip to 60 on the way to a scarcely believable 9.7-second quarter mile at an even 150 miles per hour!

Photo Credit: Ferrari

With this new four-wheeled Frazier on the block, we can’t wait to see its inevitable title bout with the upcoming twin-turbo ZR1; let’s hope that Kentucky has another Ali up its sleeve!

Source:
Road and Track

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