E-Ray, the Corvette goes electric?! (or plugin hybrid)

[botsapper]

It's natural 'Murican mid-engined supercar rival is the $400K 2017 Ford GT, with its gorgeous flying buttress design, full-carbon fiber structure and body panels, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and somewhat strange-sounding to 'Murican ears, a V-6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cogJb9lazMY

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

But the GT has its rear-engine feature as a tradition since the original GT40, so it makes sense to have a rear-mounted engine. The 'Vette, OTOH, wouldn't be the same with a rear engine...

[freebeard]

1.0L in a 'Vette sounds odd, as this displacement range is seen as a povertry feature in my country.

It was to establish a lower bound. To paraphrase Bill Gates, 1.6 liters should be enough for anybody.

Just add 300kW in electric motors and an 85kWh battery pack.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Originally Posted by freebeard

In 1947 Ferrari shipped a 1497cc V12. This suggests a 1-liter V-8 is possible.

Aussies already make a 1.0 V8:

Ian Drysdale’s Spectacular Drysdale 1000 V8

[Xist]

I do not remember enough about the conversation to want to find it, but I believe someone told me that having many tiny cylinders (for deactivation?) created excessive friction losses.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Well, yes, the higher the number of cylinders, the higher the losses, more bearings, valves and followers. A 2x small pistons will have a greater circumference then a single bigger cylinder (of the same displacement), that means there's more surface area to run on the cylinder walls creating more friction. Think of a rubic's cube. How many faces would there be if each block was a separate cylinder?* Now think about how many faces are hidden when combined into a full cube?*

Most car 1.0's are 3 cylinders for a reason. My Fiat's a 2 cylinder

Maybe they'll go the Mustang route of a turbo 4?

*Answers: 162 vs 54 Ok, the tops and bottoms don't add friction, but you get the idea.

[freebeard]

What a four-cylinder rear-engined Corvette might look like, in 1971.


Just A Car Guy : Dick Dean Kustom Bug: 1971 Shala-Vette Hardtop

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

At least for the next decade I don't believe the 'Vette would get rid of pushrods definitely.

Anyway, it might sound like a pipedream, but a 2-stroke V6 similar to some outboard powerheads would be a nice powerplant for a 'Vette...