The News for January 20th, 2023

Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week: Chevrolet finally debuts Corvette E-Ray and the specs are worth the wait, Aston Martin is sending off the DBS with more power, Porsche Classic is now offering infotainment retrofits for mid 00’s cars, and Chevrolet might be looking to fight the Ford Maverick, plus your news for the week.

Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray

This Tuesday marked 70 years since the Corvette made its first public appearance at Motorama in NYC. Chevrolet celebrated by unveiling a new car that couldn’t be any less alike the old ones. The long-awaited and rumored Corvette E-Ray is real and it’s coming later this year with AWD and hybrid power for the first time ever in Corvette history.

Sharing responsibilities for power is the standard 6.2-liter LT2 V8 with 495 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque getting sent to the rear wheels and an electric motor sending 160 horsepower and 125 lb.-ft. of torque to the front wheels. A 1.9 kWh battery pack is situated between the seats and is charged via regenerative energy from braking, coasting, and normal driving, so there’s no plugging in required. “Stealth Mode” allows the car to be driven on battery power alone up to 45 mph for quiet getaways.

In total, this is a 655-horsepower Corvette. With all-wheel drive. So naturally, it’s the quickest Corvette the company has ever made with a 0-60 mph time of just 2.5 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 10.5 seconds. That quarter mile time is about three tenths quicker than the C7 ZR1, the mightiest Corvette yet, using factory estimates.

The E-Ray shares its wide-body styling with the Z06, similar to how Grand Sports of recent generations did. In this case it’s practically a necessity in order to fit wider wheels and tires to handle all that power and torque. The E-ray rides on exclusive lightweight 20″ front and 21″ rear alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport all seasons or 4S summer tires (available with an optional performance package). It also features standard Brembo Carbon Ceramic brakes, the latest Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, available carbon fiber wheels and ground effects, and an E-Ray exclusive Electric Blue body stripe package.

View from driver’s seat in 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe in Silver Flare with Two Tone Blue Interior. Pre-production model shown. Actual production model may vary. Model year 2024 Corvette E-Ray available 2023.

MSRP, which no one will ever see, is $104,295 for the E-Ray 1LZ coupe and $111,295 for the E-Ray 1LZ convertible.

[Source: Chevrolet]

Aston Martin DBS 770 Ultimate

Aston Martin is bringing one of their most beautiful cars of a generation to a close, but not before they unleash its full potential. The DBS 770 Ultimate is a limited edition version with only 499 being built globally as coupes and convertibles, and it’s the most powerful production Aston Martin ever. It’s also been sold out already before any of us peasants even heard about it. So I’ll make this quick.

The 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine has been updated with modified air and ignition pathways and a 7% increase in boost pressure, among other things. The result is 759 horsepower and 663 lb.-ft. of torque, an increase of 44 horsepower over the standard model now reserved for the unsavory lower 1%ers. To accommodate the extra power it also gets some recalibrated shifting behavior, a new solid mounted steering column, enhanced front cross member to improve front end stiffness by 25%, and a thicker rear undertray to help increase torsional stiffness by a whole 3%. The people that will certainly drive these and not just store them to flex on poor people will surely notice and appreciate those enhancements.

But what can’t be denied is that this truly is one of the best-looking cars on sale right now. And probably the best design of Aston’s current crop of cars. It will be missed.

[Source: Aston Martin]

Porsche Classic offering new infotainment upgrade on 03-08 models

Porsche Classic is expanding the catalogue for the Porsche Classic Communication Management Plus (PCCM Plus) and what models it’s available for. These retrofitted devices enable the use of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and all the functionality they provide in newer models, such as media playback, navigation, and phone calls displayed through a 7″ touch screen. And with them being designed for use in specific models, they will match the look and feel of the rest of the interior for a seamless integration.

The new cars they’re adding to the roster are the sixth-generation 911s (997) built from 2005 to 2008, the early 987 Boxsters and Caymans from 2005 to 2008, and the first-generation Cayenne from 2003 to 2008. They’re also offering regional versions with different capabilities in each. The version for the US and Canada is ready for SiriusXM when purchased separately and they can be loaded with on-board navigation with points of interest specific to Porsche. They can also be used as trip computers and store personalized settings which can be used to control the wipers, lights, climate control, and locks.

These new PCCM Plus devices start at $1,475.99 and can be ordered at Porsche Dealerships.

[Source: Porsche]

Report: Chevrolet wants a small truck too

Ford Maverick

Pictured: not a Chevrolet

Automotive News is reporting that Chevrolet has created a small, two-door, electric pickup and has shown it to a small group touring a GM design studio. That’s according to MotorAuthority, because AN requires a subscription to read anything and Hooniverse has no budget.

Even if this particular truck is simply a design study that only exists in clay models or drawings, it’s clear that Chevrolet has been eyeing the blossoming small truck market currently being dominated by the Ford Maverick with the Hyundai Santa Cruz somewhere behind it. The basic specifications that could be gleamed from AN‘s impressions are that it’s a regular cab with a low roof and a bed length of approximately 4.0-4.5 feet, which is roughly the same as the Maverick’s. When they say low roof, it could be similar to the Maverick (which is low compared to the gargantuan trucks in higher classes) or straight up Ute. We really don’t know yet.

But what we do know is Ford literally cannot build Mavericks quickly enough. And with the Maverick being a crew cab configuration only, Chevrolet could directly appeal to commercial buyers if they traded cab space for bed length. There’s certainly enough demand to go around for a new truck war to go down, just at a smaller scale. More on this as we get it…

[Source: Automotive News via MotorAuthority]

What’s your news for the week?

hooniverse news whats your naws

So that’s all I’ve got for you this week, so now it’s your turn. If you saw anything, fixed something, broke everything, or otherwise did anything even remotely car related that you want to share with your fellow hoon, sound off in the comments.

Have a good weekend.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

4 responses to “The News for January 20th, 2023”

  1. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    I’m treating my 1982 Volvo 240 Turbo wagon to some long-delayed upgrades this week. First up, an IPD turbo camshaft to replace the stock cam, along with an adjustable cam timing gear. I’m hoping to get a bit more grunt off the line with it as opposed to top end, as the goal is to keep it a nice street car. A dragster it ain’t.

    I also threw in a pair of IPD sway bars that came as part of a package deal with another car. I probably wouldn’t have sprung for them new, so having them is a real bonus!

    I also changed the power steering pump mount to one from a non-A/C car. I’d stripped out the old non-functioning A/C compressor, condenser and underdash bits years ago but had to keep the clunky and heavy old mounting assembly to run my power steering pump. The new mount removes another 15 pounds of dead weight, helps underhood cooling and makes servicing a lot easier by opening up the engine bay. Very nice!

    Just a few more details to tend to and I’ll have my car back after several weeks. And I’ve really missed it. I’ve been using my Econoline during its absence, and while I love my old van like the faithful mule that it is, in the city it’s like driving in a fat suit. People who voluntarily choose massive rigs as in-town commuters really puzzle the hell out of me.

    1. wunno sev Avatar
      wunno sev

      i was always skeptical of how big a difference people claimed the IPD sways made on the 850, and then i got a set. great upgrade. needs pretty stiff shocks to match though, my orange Konis were a little underdamped for them

  2. BatshitboxGPT Avatar
    BatshitboxGPT

    Speaking of small pickup trucks, my 2023 Ranger now has a build date and a VIN. Sometime in the middle of March, supposedly.

    Woo-hoo!

    I ordered the truck in August, and they began production in October. I got some, “Hang in there baby” e-mails from Ford in the interim. I read an article earlier this month about how Ford was starting to ship Rangers with ‘depopulated*’ keys. “one fully-featured keyless entry key fob, and one manual key fob that has no keyless functionality, though it does retain the alarm feature”. They did this last year to get Mavericks out the door.
    https://fordauthority.com/2022/12/2023-ford-ranger-xl-pickups-get-new-depopulated-key/

    Chevy should get in on the small truck market. I hear there’s not much in the plug-in hybrid configuration. I’m not sure how popular the 2-door body really is outside of fleet service. I ordered my Ranger as a SuperCab, rear seats deleted, but I’m not representative of the market.

    *In electronics assembly, the process of soldering components onto a motherboard is called ‘populating’ the board.

  3. Salguod Avatar

    Nice to see Chevy promoting body color side scoop trim with the E-Ray. I think you could always order your Corvette that way, but almost no one did for some reason. I think it really cleans up the profile.

    I love the idea of that Porsche radio and I guess there’s one available for the 986 too. The price is a bit steep, though, and it looks like for the early 986 you need to relocate the HVAC controls too. I’ll stick with my cigarette lighter mounted Bluetooth FM transmitter for now.