- The Corvette CX concept is an all-wheel-drive electric supercar producing over 1470 kW from four motors.
- The track-focused CX.R Vision Gran Turismo combines a 662kW twin-turbo V8 with three electric motors.
- Both Corvette concepts will be available to drive virtually in Sony’s Gran Turismo 7 later this month.
Chevrolet has rolled the covers off two striking Corvette concepts at The Quail in Monterey: the CX road car vision and the CX.R Vision Gran Turismo racer.
Neither is destined for production, but both will influence the design and spirit of future Corvettes, while also making their way into Sony’s Gran Turismo 7 later this month.
Corvette, but turned up to 11
The CX concept takes Corvette cues - long bonnet, chineline body sculpting, dual-element tail-lamps - and reimagines them with a canopy roof less than 1.05m tall. Its electric drivetrain is just as extreme: four motors, one for each wheel, serve up more than 1470kW, backed by a 90kWh lithium-ion battery mounted low in the chassis.
Chevy’s design team also introduced a Vacuum Fan System, pulling air through channels in the body to generate serious downforce. Pair that with active front and rear aero, and you get a Corvette designed as much for grip as for straight-line fireworks.
Inside, the jet-fighter theme continues with a forward-lifting canopy, Inferno Red ballistic textile seats, and a full-width digital windscreen that doubles as a performance display.
As executive design director Phil Zak put it: “While the shape of a Corvette has always been expressive and forward-looking, each crease and line has its roots in the generations that came before it… The CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo demonstrate our design teams stepping away from the constraints of production vehicles and unleashing their creativity.”
When Gran Turismo meets pit lane
The CX.R Vision Gran Turismo takes the CX blueprint and remixes it for the racetrack. In trademark yellow-and-black livery, the car hunkers lower, wears even wilder aero, and sheds weight in the pursuit of lap time. Gone are the luxe materials, as inside it’s raw carbon weave and suede-trimmed racing buckets with heavy headrest padding.
Under the skin, CX.R blends electrification with old-school revs. A 2.0-litre twin-turbo V8 sits mid-ship, spinning to an eye-watering 15,000rpm and producing up to 662kW. Add in three electric motors (two front, one in the gearbox) and the combined system output mirrors the road concept at 1470kW, enough to quicken the pulse of both gamers and racing drivers alike.
Play it before you can’t buy it
While you won’t find either CX concept in a showroom, they’re far from static showpieces. Chevrolet and Polyphony Digital have modelled both in detail for Gran Turismo 7, complete with functional aero, hybridised drivetrains and full interiors.
Virtual racers will be able to sample Corvette’s wildest visions yet in what is arguably the safest way to test this dream machine.
