Executive Chief Engineer Tony Roma reassured the Corvette faithful in an interview at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed that gasoline-powered ‘Vettes are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

“The technology really isn’t there to make a car you would enjoy, and to make a car light enough with enough range, with enough capability at a cost point that people could afford,” Roma told CarBuzz.
“So I don’t think the technology is there yet, and I don’t think the market is really there, not in volume. It would be a very niche product. So I think it’s going to be a while before you see an all-electric Corvette.”

Indeed, when former President Biden mentioned at one point during his term wanting to take an electric Corvette for a drive, he apparently was actually referring to the E-Ray and ZR1X, both of which have additional power provided by electric motors in the front.

“It was about an electrified Corvette, which is the car we’re standing next to,” Roma explained. “And that was the discussion back then, and that is and has been the discussion. Some people took that and assumed we meant all electric.”
During the interview, Roma explained that the all-wheel-drive system on both electrified versions of the Corvettes helps make the cars more stable in curves.

“Instead of drifting away from the apex, you get to the point where you realize, oh, the front axle is going to vector me into the apex, and it helps pull you,” Roma explained. “And it does things that it really takes a while to get used to driving, and it does things that you can’t do any other way. It’s incredible.”

Hopefully, that means the C9 will still have internal combustion engines, meaning that the days of hearing the beautiful roar of gasoline-powered Corvettes are far from over.

It's worth noting that the E-Ray, while being the first electrified Corvette in Chevrolet's history, wasn't the only hybrid C8 on the drawing board. From the very beginning, the E-Ray and ZR1X were co-developed with the electric motor powering the front axle.
In the hotter 'Vette, that motor adds 186 hp to the mix. But more importantly for performance, it helps the ZR1X make better use of its twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 mounted behind the driver.

As Roma explains, the all-wheel-drive system helps pull the ZR1X into the apex of a corner. Drivers can also roll onto the throttle sooner rather than later on exit. The extra pull from that front motor helps the rear stay in line, even if the massive rear tires break loose. And with traction control dialed back, they will definitely break loose at the mere hint of aggression on the gas pedal.

"Instead of drifting away from the apex, you get to the point where you realize, oh, the front axle is going to vector me into the apex, and it helps pull you," said Roma. "And it does things that it really takes a while to get used to driving, and it does things that you can't do any other way. It's incredible."

Roma didn't expand further on anything else coming for the C8, which likely means a Corvette Zora, however it might've been presented, isn't happening. ZR1 has been the flagship trim for several Corvette generations now, and it appears that won't change for the C8.
Moving beyond to the C9, there's not much to discuss right now, but an electric-only 'Vette may not happen for that generation, either. Roma doesn't believe the hardware exists to build a car befitting the Corvette name.

"The technology really isn't there to make a car you would enjoy, and to make a car light enough with enough range, with enough capability at a cost point that people could afford," he said.
"So I don't think the technology is there yet, and I don't think the market is really there, not in volume.
It would be a very niche product. So I think it's going to be a while before you see an all-electric Corvette."