Kinglake, Australia, Still Marked by Black Saturday Flames, Serves as Backdrop for Corvette E-Ray Test Drive
KINGLAKE, Australia – Sixteen years after the devastating Black Saturday bushfires, which claimed 173 lives and nearly obliterated the town of Kinglake, the community is slowly rebuilding. The resilience of those who stayed is undeniable—a testament to the human spirit’s ability to endure even after losing 630 of the town’s 760 homes.
Against this backdrop of recovery, a gleaming white Corvette E-Ray recently made an appearance, awaiting photographer Ellen Dewar, as the town geared up for another scorcher of a day.
“What’s that then, a Ferrari?” a tradesman inquired, catching sight of the striking coupe. Upon learning it was a new hybrid Corvette with all-wheel drive, he struggled to absorb the information. And understandably so. Corvettes have traditionally been known for their rugged simplicity: fiberglass body, big engine up front, and power to the rear wheels. It was “the right stuff,” as the tradesman said.
The C8 E-Ray represents a radical departure from this formula. To compete with the world’s leading supercars, a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configuration simply has its limitations. The E-Ray uses its electric powertrain not to reduce emissions but “in order to make the car faster and more exciting.”
As the photographer Dewar arrived, the pair left kinglake, heading east towards Castella. While the forests have regenerated,empty lots serve as stark reminders of the devastation. “Perhaps in some places the bushfire risk is still too high,” the author mused. One local resident, highlighting the density of the understory vegetation, ominously suggested, “It’s a case of when, not if” in terms of another fire. yet, he added, “The difference now is that we certainly know how bad it can be and we’ll get out fast.”
Driving towards Murrindindi,the landscape,parched by a dry summer,presented a stark contrast to the vibrant green once there. On these open roads, the Corvette E-Ray proved to be an able companion. The author, accessing its customisable ‘Zora’ mode, tailored the driving experience, noting the magnetorheological dampers ironing out “a lot of the high-frequency chatter.”
despite limited interior storage, the E-Ray offered a degree of practicality with its 345 liters (12.2 cubic feet) of luggage space.Though not especially economical, the cylinder deactivation mode offered the driver an opportunity to cruise in a 3.1-liter V4 configuration.
Inside, the author, who is 6-foot-4, found the accommodation adequate, although the passenger experience appeared to be an afterthought. “The driver’s seat has electrically adjustable side bolsters, but the passenger doesn’t. I think the E-Ray dislikes its passenger. They get no storage for anything, not even a little pouch or net. Even the central bin is side-hinged to open towards the driver, and for the passenger, the cup holders are a reach over the faintly ridiculous 20-button HVAC central spar.” The location of the lane-keep assist button, on the header rail above the rear-view mirror, also led to an accidental gesture and a misunderstanding with a fellow driver.
In Murrindindi, the E-Ray’s vocal prowess became apparent. While the initial stealth mode offered a brief period of silent electric driving, attempting even minor tasks like switching on the air conditioning would “fire the 6.2-liter V8 up with a sharp bark.” The author quipped, “Didn’t that just wipe the smug right off my face.”
The E-Ray’s exhaust note, while not reaching the operatic heights of a Ferrari V8, was “convincingly” old-school. Left to its own devices, the car’s computer sometiems selected gears that where too high, requiring the driver to take control using the carbon-fiber paddle shifters.
The E-Ray boasted impressive acceleration. in controlled testing, it achieved “an easy and repeatable 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds.” The author marveled at the E-Ray’s potency, noting that its “488kW and a massive 806Nm” outpaced its track-focused sibling, the Z06.
With its all-wheel-drive grip, the E-Ray made it “easy to find yourself covering ground at inadvisable speeds.” Fortunately, the car’s head-up display kept the driver informed of their velocity. In terms of outright performance, a 0-400m run was accomplished in a blistering 10.4 seconds, putting it on par with supercar royalty.
The E-Ray’s hybrid drivetrain combines a 369kW/637Nm internal combustion engine driving
