Electrified Corvette takes off like a rocket at Cape Canaveral, sets speed record

By Stephen Edelstein March 1, 2017

Someone built a 200-mph electric Corvette, and that someone isn’t Chevrolet.

Maryland-based Genovation Cars has been electrifying ‘Vettes for the past couple of years, and one of its creations just hit a major performance milestone. During supervised tests at the former Space Shuttle landing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Genovation Extreme Electric (or GXE, for short), reached a top speed of 209 mph.

Genovation says that is a top-speed record for an electric car. It should know, as it set the previous record of 205.6 mph last year, and a record of 186.8 mph before that. The company claims to have set the record for electric cars in the standing mile as well, at 190.4 mph.

The GXE is based on a C6-generation Corvette Z06, which came from the factory with a 7.0-liter V8 that produces 505 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Genovation replaced that with electric motors producing a combined 700 hp and 600 lb-ft. of torque, plus a 44-kilowatt-hour battery pack to power them. Genovation also claims a 150-mile range (up from the previously quoted 130 miles) for normal driving, and says the GXE has a 50/50 front-rear weight distribution, which helps with handling.

While it is a modified version of an existing design, the GXE hints at a different route automakers could take with production electric performance cars. The Tesla Model S P100D, Lucid Air, and Faraday Future FF91 all have more power than the GXE, but they are all cushy luxury cars, and thus weigh substantially more. The Tesla Roadster was the last electric sports car to sell in large numbers, although Chinese startup NextEV and Croatian firm Rimac are trying to revive the concept with their Nio EP9 and Concept One, respectively.

Even if an automaker doesn’t step up and build a high-performance electric sports car, you may be able to get your hands on a Genovation GXE. The company is accepting pre-orders for 75 production vehicles, although it is unclear when deliveries will begin.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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