The electrified Corvette is dead; long live the electrified Corvette. When the 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport X was announced, it became obvious that the first-ever hybrid ‘Vette, dubbed the E-Ray, wasn’t entirely being put out to pasture—more like, tinkered with, improved, and renamed. The result is a 721-horsepower, all-wheel-drive American sports car with a honkin’ V8 behind the cockpit.
I recently drove the entire LS6-powered lineup: Stingray, Grand Sport, and Grand Sport X, which you can read about in detail here.
When it comes to the Grand Sport X specifically, I set out to find out how this new all-weather hot rod differs from the defunct E-Ray, and to learn what it’s like on the racetrack and on the street. With a new 6.7-liter LS6, a hybrid system, the body kit of a Z06, and an electrified front axle plucked from the mighty ZR1X, it’s the ultimate expression of the “normal” Corvette. Going any higher in the range, into Z06 and ZR1 territory, commands bravery and many, many more dollars.
New LS6 V8
Proudly announced with the most torque of any naturally aspirated V8 Chevy has ever produced, the new 6.7-liter LS6 makes 520 lb-ft, eclipsing its predecessor, the LT2, which offered 470 lb-ft. And while the base Stingray and the regular Grand Sport offer 535 hp—up from 490 in the previous 6.2-liter—the Grand Sport X puts out 721 courtesy of some electrons.
Other highlights of the new mill include a 13.0:1 compression ratio (highest ever for Corvette) for sharper response, and a 95-mm throttle body with tunnel ram intake with high-velocity ports to move more air. Likewise, a new lubrication system, forged pistons and rods, and revised exhaust manifolds ensure durability in extended high-load, high-temperature environments. You can hear it roar in the video at the bottom of this page.
The Grand Sport X, like all other C8 Corvettes, is only available with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
From E-Ray to Grand Sport X
The Grand Sport X doesn’t bother looking back at its predecessor all that much. The V8 is completely new, and so is the hybrid drivetrain, comprised of the electric motor and battery. So from a drivetrain perspective, the X is more of a new car than an evolution of the E-Ray. The hardware is borrowed from the ZR1X that recently set the all-time production-car record at Pikes Peak with J.R. Hildebrand behind the wheel, so you know it’s pretty darn capable. Naturally, there are engine tuning differences, given that the ZR1X isn’t propelled by the new LS6, plus it has 1,250 hp, which is a whopping 529 more than the GSX. For reference, the old E-Ray put out 655 ponies.
It’s a similar situation when it comes to styling. Historically, the Grand Sport has borrowed its design characteristics from the range-topping Z06, and that’s no different this time around. The wider, more aggressive-looking kit is pulled directly from the Z06, though the oversized badging ahead of the rear wheels, especially the X, will make you look twice to make sure it’s not a ZR1X without the massive rear wing. Overall, the new GSX looks a lot more like the new GS than it does the E-Ray.
The chassis remains mostly untouched, though the Stingray and Grand Sport receive a recalibrated MagneRide for better performance, a change that carries over to the top trim of the LS6 lineup. The cabin also remains largely the same as the E-Ray’s, with only minor model-year updates.
In terms of performance, the X can do 0-60 mph in 2.4 seconds, versus the E-Ray’s 2.5 seconds, which is good. What isn’t that good is the fuel economy: 15 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 18 mpg combined, compared with the E-Ray’s 16 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 19 mpg combined. Call me crazy, but I don’t think anyone will care.
Driving the 2027 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport X
I never had the chance to drive the E-Ray, but my colleague and friend Adam Ismail recently did. From his June 2026 review:
“I’d heard that the C8 punched above its price bracket, and obviously the aforementioned figures tell a story, but I wasn’t ready for how much of a capital-S supercar the E-Ray actually is. Everything just feels locked in, optimized, honed for palpability and communication. My loaner rode on Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season rubber—not summer tires—and even so, the eagerness with which it changed direction and the total lack of ambiguity when it did were intoxicating. As was the raucous song of the small-block two feet from my spine, but that part is probably the least surprising of all. The hybrid E-Ray, by the way, supplements that growl with a weirdly distant siren tone that had me constantly looking in my mirrors.
“Perhaps the front axle torque played a role in my confidence; I know it certainly made its presence known with a few flicks of the left paddle. Of course, it’s quick, and public roads don’t allow you to safely explore that for much longer than a brief pull. Everything about this car is so effortlessly capable yet full of character. And sure, the ride may beat you up a bit, and potholes, poor pavement, and driveline vibrations rarely go unnoticed, but you drive this thing precisely because it doesn’t dull the senses. It awakens them.”
It sure sounds a lot like my experience in the Grand Sport X, down the annoying fake sound that’s pumped into the cabin via the speakers to somehow remind you that you’re driving a hybrid ‘Vette. In the X, it’s not so much a siren as it is a spaceship-y whirring sound. I really didn’t like it.
On the track, it also feels locked-in and ready to tackle whatever series of corners you throw at it. It doesn’t take long to realize how much front grip this car has over its rear-drive sibling. At Atlanta Motorsport Park’s especially long and fast corners, the X exudes composure and ruthlessness in how it dices through sweepers and apexes. As Hildebrand explained while giving me a balls-out lap around the circuit, you don’t really understand how much energy the battery is sending to the front axle to keep the car rotating through tight or fast corners until you either look at the data, run out of battery, or hop in the rear-drive GS back-to-back. You can watch that lap here, and I promise it’s a lot more violent in person than it looks on video.
As Adam explained in his review, “the electric motor isn’t here to shrink anybody’s carbon footprint,” and that’s roughly the same case in the new model. Away from the track and on curvy country roads outside of Atlanta, the X was always ready to lurch forward and pounce on any corner or straight. Depending on which driving mode you selected, the LS6 could be somewhat subdued to make sure you don’t wake up the neighbors at startup, or so you can hold a meeting from the car. But in others, like Sport or Track, it was excessively loud. In fact, I only noticed how loud it really was after I took my helmet off, finished my track stint, and then drove on the street.
Ultimately, without driving both cars back-to-back, it’s hard to compare the nuances of the old LT2 V8 in the E-Ray versus the LS6 in the GSX, but knowing how much time and effort the engine team put into the new engine, I’d assume that all driving dynamics have been improved in the new car. Perhaps Chevy still has an E-Ray lying around in the Midwest and will let me take it out for a spin before snow starts falling.
At the end of the day, both cars represent a breakthrough for the Bowtie, especially considering many fans of the brand never thought they’d see a mid-engine Corvette. Now, we not only have a mid-engine car but also a hybrid one that’s all-wheel drive. And if you step out of the LS6 range, there’s even a $250,000 Corvette that can go 233 mph. What a time to be alive.
Click here for my full review and scoring of the 2027 Grand Sport X and its siblings.
Email the author at jerry@thedrive.com