Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray wins 2023 Vehicle Engineering Team Award

Photo Credit: General Motors Co.

The 2024 model year (MY) Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray and a team from General Motors Co. (GM, Detroit, Mich., U.S.) and its suppliers that developed the electrified, all-wheel drive (eAWD) sports car have been named the winners of this year’s Vehicle Engineering Team Award (VETA) given by the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE, Troy, Mich., U.S.) Automotive Division. The VETA award was created in 2004 to recognize the technical achievements of entire teams — comprised of automotive designers and engineers, Tier integrators, materials suppliers, toolmakers and others — whose work in research, design, engineering and manufacturing has led to significant integration of polymeric materials on notable vehicles. The joint team will be honored for its contributions at the 52^nd SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Gala in November 2023.

The 2024 E-Ray features numerous plastic and composite technologies that support the multi-patented electrified propulsion system. Many of the technologies were also nominated in other categories of SPE’s 2023 Automotive Innovation Awards Competition. Among the technologies nominated were a carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy wheel (system supplier and material process Carbon Revolution), hybrid battery interconnect board, plastic oil cooling lines, battery module side plates and battery module structure.

The wide-bodied, eAWD sports car, which accelerates 0-60 miles/hour in a mere 2.5 seconds, is reported to be the quickest accelerating Corvette in Chevrolet’s 70-year history thanks to a dual-propulsion system pairing a naturally aspirated small-block V-8 engine, which powers the rear wheels, with an electric motor, which powers the front wheels.