Electric Corvette
Genovation
Genovation GXE
All-electric Corvette coming to limited-production for staggering $750,000 price tag
Fred Lambert | Oct 14 2016 - 5:26 am PT
Earlier this year, Maryland-based custom carmaker Genovation set the top speed world record for a road-legal all-electric car, a modified battery-powered Z06 Corvette, reaching the record-breaking speed of 205.6 mph.
This week the company unveiled a new version of their concept with the same electric powertrain re-engineered for a C7 Grand Sport Corvette, which they are calling Genovation Extreme Electric (GXE), and they plan to bring it to limited-production.
The company fitted a 44 kWh battery pack in the prototype and claims some impressive specs:
"The GXE includes a state-of-the-art battery management system, inverters, batteries and electric motors that produce in excess of 660-hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. The car has a range of 130 miles during normal driving operation with a near 50/50 weight distribution and is optimized for a low center of gravity."
The real kicker is the 205 mph top speed, but Genovation doesn't say how long it can maintain it, which can be a problem for electric vehicles.
In comparison, the Tesla Model S' top speed is 155 mph, but it is software-limited in order not to damage the battery pack. If it wasn't software-limited, the vehicle could potentially achieve a similar top speed as Genovation's record.
In a press release this week, Andrew Saul, CEO of Genovation, commented on the announcement of the plans to bring the vehicle to market:
"We are very proud of what we have accomplished with the GXE thus far, pushing the limits for electric-powered cars beyond what most people thought was possible. We are excited to enter the next phase and begin offering this extraordinary vehicle to discerning customers. This is a truly unique vehicle on a number of fronts, and we are thrilled to be bringing it to market."
The company released two renderings of the GXE :
It's not cheap. Genovation says that the GXE will cost $750,000. That's about 10 times the price of a new C7 Grand Sport Corvette.
The company is going for exclusivity with only a limited quantity of 75 vehicles and they promised that each vehcile will be unique because they will involve the customers in the individual design and finishing process.
If you want one though, you need to have a lot of trust in the startup since they require to submit a deposit of $250,000 and they don't expect to ship the vehicle until Q4 of 2019 after a 2-year design period and 1 year build time.