Lucas Bell 
The proliferation of electric vehicles appears to draw nearer, whether we are ready or not. While there are a number of reasons that automotive enthusiasts are hesitant to embrace these fossil-fuel free machines, the level of performance they offer is becoming less of an argument. Just this week, the Chevrolet Corvette-based Genovation GXE set the top speed record for a street legal electric car, hitting speeds of 210.2 mph. The top speed run of this electric Corvette was conducted at the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing facility, where the Genovation team battled the elements in order to claim their world record verified by the International Mile Racing Association.
Heavy rain initially delayed the testing, while powerful crosswinds plagued the actual record setting run. Genovation believes there is more performance left on the table, as hinted to in the video of the record setting run.
Despite the car’s C7 Corvette roots, there is no longer a hint of the 8-cylinder engine that once sat under the hood. In its place now sits the twin-motor electric powertrain, which is capable of producing over 800 horsepower and more than 700 pound-feet of torque. Power is drawn from a 60-kWh battery pack, which is arguably the most limiting factor in this electric Corvette. Like many other electric performance cars, the high performance does come at the behest of overall range. Genovation claims that the GXE will be able to go 175 miles on a charge, if driven appropriately.
The GXE hasn’t ditched the entire Corvette running gear however. The engineering team decided to retain both the eight-speed automatic and seven-speed manual transmissions from the C7 depending on the donor car. This choice was made in the interest of balancing acceleration and top speed performance, something that single speed gearboxes found on many electric cars can’t do like a traditional box. Retaining the C7 Corvette transaxles almost certainly helps the GXE attain its nearly perfect 50:50 weight distribution as well.
Genovation says that deliveries for the GXE electric Corvette are set to begin early next year. A production run of 75 units is planned, with each totaling $750,000 plus the price of a donor car. That’s an awfully steep price, indeed. But unlike the all-electric Camaro eCOPO, the Genovation GXE is fully road legal.
