DID GM TEASE THE ELECTRIC CHASSIS OF THE C9 CORVETTE?

The Chevrolet Blazer EV was fully revealed on Monday, and with that came the 480 hp Blazer EV SS and a first-ever Blazer EV police patrol vehicle. However, if you thought Chevy only released content exclusive to the electric SUV, you’d be wrong. Teased within one of the “Blazer EV Academy” videos was an Ultium battery-on-body chassis for what could be the C9 Corvette, potential Camaro EV, or even a future Cadillac or Buick. The video is embedded at the bottom of this story.

Electric C9 Corvette Teaser? Or Something Else?

The Chevrolet Blazer EV reveal video shows three different chassis for the Ultium Platform. To the left appears to be the BT1 chassis for the Chevrolet Silverado EV (the size and wheels are a dead giveaway), on the right the chassis of the Blazer EV, and a far more peculiar chassis right in the center. Appearing more low-slung than the other two, this chassis has electric motors both front and rear, and a battery pack that is no longer flat like the others, but oriented to where a set of extra batteries in a sort of T-shape are on top of an otherwise flat floor.

Because the packaging of modern electric vehicle battery packs are so darn thick, ground clearance can quickly become an issue when designing a performance vehicle that requires a lowered seating position. To avoid things from getting too low, some kind of adjustments to the design would have to be incorporated that could both pack in the amount of required battery cells and maintain a low seating position, while keeping low ground clearance. From our eyes, this chassis appears to do just that. The T-shape battery pack atop of the Ultium chassis could preclude rear seating as well, so signs that this is an early teaser of an all-electric C9 Corvette EV instead of a 2+2 Camaro EV or a four-seat Cadillac appears evident. That said, we’re not ruling out the possibilities of a two-seat Cadillac V-series electric sports car (based on Cadillac’s electric ambitions), or a revised seventh-generation Camaro that foregoes gasoline. Some observers have pointed out that this chassis is intended for the Celestiq, Cadillac’s new flagship luxury EV sedan.

At the moment, the tunnel that runs through the center of the C8 Corvette’s cockpit is mostly hollow. That will change with the introduction of the E-Ray, as this hybrid AWD Corvette will feature a battery pack running along center of the vehicle, and electric motors in between the front two wheels in place of the front storage compartment (the frunk).

Stay tuned to MC&T for more C9 Corvette details as they happen.