E-Ray, You Electrify Me!

It’s been one month since I flew up to Criswell Chevrolet and took delivery of my new 2025 Corvette E-Ray Convertible from my friend Mike Furman. So far, this Corvette E-Ray has been just an absolute dream machine and I couldn’t be more excited about my first foray into modern Corvette ownership. In this post, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on why the E-Ray, as well as my ordering experience.

I liked the new C8 Corvette when it first debuted, but it was the C8 Convertible that grabbed me by my heart after witnessing the unveiling of the HTC model at Kennedy Space Center in 2019. What really put me on the path to modern Corvette ownership was the rumor back in early 2020 of a hybrid electric AWD drive model. After hearing that, I said to myself “why not see what happens in a few years,” so I contacted Mike Furman and suddenly found myself with a deal folder for the E-Ray tucked inside the number one Corvette salesman’s desk.

Time flies, so we fast forward to January 17, 2023 and the public reveal of the new Corvette E-Ray. I was glued to the all the initial reviews, first drive videos, and of course, Cody Bulkley’s amazing cyclones. Watching the E-Ray turning 1g on the skid pad and its unbelievable 2.5 second 0-60 launches combined with the ultra-cool sounding electric motor had me hooked.

Then came the E-Ray visualizer and I was addicted, building different versions and naming them all. I had builds in all the different colors and originally I was locked in on 2LZ Convertible with the two-tone Sky Cool Gray interior, I just had to find the exterior that was right for me. After finally narrowing my exterior down to Riptide Blue, Chevy announced the new Hysteria Purple Metallic at the 2024 NCM Bash and I knew right then I had found my color. At the Bash, I also had a chance to take a closer look at the 3LZ interiors, and soon after I talked myself into the 3LZ trim as it changes the upper cabin from Black to Sky Cool Gray, and it includes the Visible Carbon Fiber Steering Wheel and GT2 seats. As I was already paying for the GT2 seat upgrade and pricing out visible Carbon Fiber steering wheel replacements, I found the jump from 2LZ to 3LZ to make a lot more sense in the long run.

My build became my obsession, and GM should have made me an honorary designer for the work I put in. My Convertible E-Ray was further optioned with the Black Nacelles and Roof, and I added the bright chrome emblems which really pops against Hysteria. I also decided to go with Wheel Craft for a true chrome wheel, so the car was ordered with the standard Pearl Nickels which still look excellent on the car. Finally, my exclamation points on the car are the Bright Red Calipers and Red Seat Belts, both of which go with Hysteria far better than I ever imagined. I’m going for that coveted 1-of-1 build so pick something else if you’re building out a Hysteria Purple E-Ray.

The order process with Mike was very smooth, despite the fact that GM didn’t have pricing out or the configurator up and running. Mike printed out my order and I went line-by-line making sure I had everything I wanted. My initial order went in on July 27, 2024 and I received a confirmation email from GM that my order was received. One month later, I got the opportunity to finally see Hysteria Blue in person at both Corvettes at Carlisle and the NCM’s 30th Anniversary Celebration and I knew that I had made the right design choices.

So now the wait was on for 2025 Corvette ordering. In the first two order cycles, the Hysteria E-Rays were limited to just a couple dozen. Finally, during the third order cycle of 2025, the restriction on the color was lifted and my order was officially matched with an allocation on September 12th. While I received an initial communication E-Mail in July from GM about my order going in at the very beginning of the model year, I never received any further GM notifications telling me what my status was, when the car was completed, and when it had shipped. That was disappointing as I was hoping to share those along the way. And for some unknown reason, I am still unable to pull up my E-Ray’s window sticker.

My E-Ray wears the VIN sequence of #131 and it was completed on Wednesday, October 9th. Coincidently, that was the same day that Florida was hit by Hurricane Milton. Our house is two blocks off Tampa Bay and it was feared that we would be hit with a storm surge of up to 15 feet. We had just been through flooding from Hurricane Helene two weeks previously, so we moved inland to wait out the storm. On Thursday afternoon, we returned to find our house still standing and mostly undamaged. We had no power for six days following the storm, but Mike had sent me text updates to let me know that the car had been built and was scheduled for shipment.

Having been honored over the last decade to feature Mike’s customers receiving their new Corvettes, my turn came up on Friday November 1st. While I could have opted for an R8C Museum Delivery, I wanted to have the “Mike Furman Delivery Experience” as I joked with him, and I couldn’t wait to see my E-Ray parked in the same delivery spot right outside his office. My wife and I flew in the night before, staying at a hotel right Mike recommended that is right around the corner from the dealership. The next morning we arrived at Criswell and found Mike wiping down the car and getting it ready the big day. I had also worked with their service manager Dina Bartolomeo prior to delivery to install a set of ACS Composite Rock Guards, and I had ordered the Scrape Armor grille screens which were added during PDI, so the car was all set to go!

During the delivery, Mike went over all the major controls and got the car set up for me, paired my phone, and set the memory for the seats. Of course he took plenty of pictures during the delivery as well. I meant take more pics as well, but the whole delivery process felt like a dream sequence. Mike made the process quick and easy, and we still had plenty of time to go over all the fun stuff like Stealth Mode and the operation of the convertible top.

Leaving his dealership, we headed south down I95 where we would stay in Savannah for the night with my mom. During that initial drive, not only did we make our first stop at a McDonalds (just like the Corvette Team did with the first public drive of the C8 Corvette), but we managed to get the first 500 break-in miles out of the way and then some on the first day! By the time we returned to Tampa, there were 940 miles on the odometer and we averaged 22.7 MPG on the trip.

Mike told me that the new “Corvettes aren’t for the shy” as they draw all kinds of attention no matter where you are or what your doing. That goes double for when your Corvette is wearing a bright new color like the Hysteria Purple Metallic! Thanks again for reading and if any of you with questions on the E-Ray, feel free to send me an email.

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