Did GM Just Hint at a New Electric Coupe?
GM’s latest Ultium announcement adds fuel to the fire around rumors of an electric Camaro or Corvette.
GM is going hard on EVs these days, with a number of trucks and SUVs already on sale or in the pipeline for launch. This week, however, a simple feature announcement video hinted that an EV coupe may just be on the cards. Could GM have an electric sportscar in the works?
The hint came from GM's recent announcement that vehicle-to-home (V2H) charging is coming to its full line of Ultium-architecture EVs by 2026. That announcement included a short video, highlighting the technology and the range of EVs that will be getting the feature. Amongst the SUVs and trucks that we already know about, there was one little interesting hint. A title at the end of the video indicated the technology would be coming to "New Ultium-based coupes."
This means we get to brazenly speculate as to what this could mean going forward. Thus far, there has been some talk of upcoming Ultium-powered coupes. This latest video just adds fuel to the fire that GM is getting really serious about building an EV sports car.
Back in 2021, rumors abounded that the Chevrolet Camaro could be going electric. It would in some ways make sense, given the current model is due to end production in January 2024. However, those same rumors indicated we'd be seeing the new model by 2024, and that it would be reborn as an electric sedan, not a coupe.
Perhaps more likely is that GM is going to build an all-electric Corvette or some kind of EV coupe based on the C8 platform. We've already heard strong suggestions this could happen. GM President Mark Reuss made a post on LinkedIn last year indicating that a fully-electric Ultium-based Corvette would be on the way, following the first electrified hybrid Corvette which dropped this year, in the form of the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
Reuss later followed that up with comments made in an investor call in 2022. There, Reuss stopped short of calling the potential model a Corvette but referred to an all-electric sports car based on the C8 platform.
To play devil's advocate, however, this hint could lead us all into a pit of disappointment. Any enthusiast will tell you that automakers have been playing fast and loose with the term "coupe" of late, often applying it to sedans and SUVs with four doors and squished rooflines. The word coupe is no longer definitively synonymous with sports car, so those hoping for one should temper their excitement for now. GM did say "coupes," plural, though, so who knows—maybe we'll get both.
The Drive has contacted GM for comment and will update this article accordingly. In any case, though, automakers are typically very coy about discussing future models before they're ready to make a full announcement.
It's not exactly clear what GM is planning just yet. However, it's yet more evidence that the company is serious about building some kind of electric coupe. Here's hoping it's an absolute barnstormer that can make America proud.
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