Electric Corvette Prototype Comes Around For A Second Go

General Motors has placed itself as a leader in plug-in car technology with cars like the Chevy Volt, Spark EV, and Bolt Concept. That’s just scartching the surface though, as there are literally dozens of upstart shops like VIA Motors that are turning vehicles from GM (and other companies) into plug-in vehicles designed to fill a special niche. VIA, for example, wants to build commercial-grade plug-in vans and pickups aimed at fleet buyers.

Then there’s little-known Genovation Cars, a Maryland-based greentech startup that began with the idea of a small plug-in commuter car called the “G2”, and unsurprisingly, most people didn’t care. So they went in a different direction, announcing that it has nearly finished an all-electric Corvette prototype called the GXE. The GXE, which stands for Genovation Extreme Electric, will be based on the chassis of a 2006 Corvette Z06, sans the massive 7.0 liter LS7 motor.

But just because the Corvette GXE will be 100-percent electric doesn’t mean it won’t have some serious oomph, as Genovation is aiming to produce 700 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque with a top speed of 200 mph. Those power figures rival even the mighty Tesla P85D electric supercar, and a 200 mph top-speed absolutely dust’s Elon Musk’s EV, which is electronically limited to just 155 mph. However, Genovation is only expecting a range of about 150 miles per charge, about 100 miles less than the top-of-the-line Tesla, though it quotes a 0 to 60 mph time of “around three seconds” according to Genovation CEO Andrew Saul.

There’s just one thing wrong…we’ve heard this song and dance before. Way back in 2010, Genovation debuted…a 2006 Corvette Z06 converted to an EV called the G-Vette. Power figures were almost identical, though range was quoted as a bit more optimistic 200 miles, and after initially breaking cover, Genovation just sort of disappeared from the news circuit until now, with basically the same car and the same promises.

That might be a bit unfair, as surely something has changed for the better in the past five years. It’s just hard to figure out exactly what.