Chevy Corvette Hybrid: Not Nearly As Horrifying As Purists ThinkChevy Corvette Hybrid: Not Nearly As Horrifying As Purists Think

Traditionalists may be feeling faint right about now.
The thought of a Chevrolet Corvette with a hybrid-electric powertrain threatens to make their heads explode.
But that’s exactly the concept at which GM president Mark Reuss says, “Don’t laugh.”
Reuss made the comment during a Los Angeles Times interview (via Motor Authority) in which interviewer David Undercoffler asked–perhaps facetiously–about such an unlikely beast.
The GM president is the company’s uber-car guy, now that Bob Lutz has retired, and he called the concept “a very attractive idea,” suggesting that “people would love it.”
Mark Reuss and the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Pace Car
He also pointed out that Porsche and BMW, among others, are about to offer high-performance plug-in hybrid models.
We humbly note that we pointed out the advantages of such a system more than four years ago, horrifying Corvette fans back then as well.
At that point, we mused that GM might employ its (now-departed) Two-Mode Hybrid system to produce a Corvette with total powertrain output of, say, 750 horsepower.
If a hybrid Chevy Corvette ever came to pass, in other words, it would hardly be a hybrid in the mode of the quintessential Toyota Prius.
For one thing, it might well have a plug. GM is doubling down on its Voltec plug-in hybrid system, eschewing traditional hybrids without plugs, so any hybrid Corvette might offer pure electric torque off the line.
That would most likely be the part Reuss called “really fun to do.”
This is far from the first time that a high-powered GM exec has mentioned the idea of a Corvette Hybrid, incidentally.
2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – 2013 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
Back in 2010, GM’s vice president of global vehicle engineering Karl-Friedrich Stracke said a hybrid Corvette was an “interesting idea.”
The all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has received rave reviews for its styling, performance, and improved interior.
It will be fitted with many new, faster, and (increasingly) more fuel-efficient powertrains over a model life that’s likely to approach 10 years.
Will one of those be a hybrid? Don’t bet against it.
If hybrid or plug-in hybrid technology could give it the requisite performance–and boost fuel efficiency as well–would Corvette enthusiasts go for it?
Could a plug-in hybrid Corvette attract new “conquest” buyers who had shied away from the Corvette’s traditional image?
Leave us your thoughts in the Comments below.
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