Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Hybrid Has A Cheat Code For Burnouts

Jan. 18, 2023 7:38 AM ET byIan Wright Sports Cars /Comments

All-wheel drive won't stop the electrified Corvette from doing burnouts.

Despite being all-wheel drive and engineered for maximum grip, a lengthy cheat code will allow Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray owners todo burnouts. Corvette chief engineer Josh Holder explained toMotorTrendthat the process to unlock the ability is the same as with the C8 Corvette Stingray and Z06.

Onthe new hybrid Corvette model, the process stops torque from the electric motor going to the front wheels while giving the 495 horsepower 6.2-liter V8 free-reign over the rear wheels to deliver the smoke show. However, it will be more of a balancing act as the mid-mounted engine puts weight on the grippy rear tires, and the rear brakes are ready to grab and keep hold of the discs.

The existing process to warm up tires for a launch control requires traction and stability control to be turned off, both shift paddles behind the steering wheel to be held back, moderate pressure to be applied to the brake pedal with the left foot, and accelerator fully depressed with the right foot. The V8 then stabilizes at 5,000 rpm, ready to go, and it's time to release the paddle shifters. The car should creep forward while the rear tires spin up and generate smoke.

The trick with the E-Ray for maintaining a burnout will be to get the brake pedal pressure just right. There needs to be light enough pressure that the rear carbon-ceramic brakes don't grab and bring things to a juddering halt but enough that the 470 lb-ft of torque doesn't overwhelm the front brakes and allow the E-Ray to take off running.

Don't expect to see full tire-shredding antics from the Corvette E-Ray, though. There's simply too much traction baked into the car to get the tires down to the popping point. So much so that Chevy had to experiment after the typical line lock solution failed. Aline lock systemallows the rear brakes to be disengaged from the pedal completely, but engineers found the E-Ray just accelerated anyway, managing to pull 0.4 g still. That means an E-Ray with locked front wheels could keep up with aMazda MX-5in a drag race. Engineers then experimented with reversing the electric motor so the front pushes back while the rear pushes forward. However, engineers still found that the E-Ray would accelerate.

The bottom line is that the C8 Corvette is too grippy at the back for big,tortuously smokey burnouts. Unless, possibly, people start playing with much harder tires than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S ZP rubber that comes with the car.