GM just made an EV Corvette concept car. Could it be a new American icon?

The Chevrolet Corvette has been the icon of U.S. industrial power since 1953. It also symbolizes the great ideal of America—a dream of individual freedom that was ultimately embodied in big roaring cars and endless highways.

This gasoline-fueled dream might lose its gasoline smell forever, as General Motors experiments with a fully electric Corvette. GM created this car in its new design studio in Royal Leamington Spa, about 20 miles from Birmingham in the U.K. And, although the company insists that it is not a confirmed production model (concept cars are never production models), it marks the beginning of a path already taken by rivals like the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger.

“This concept is purely a design exercise involving GM’s existing design studios in Los Angeles, Detroit, and the U.K.,” Chad Lyons, head of Chevrolet PR, tells me via email. The concept “has no production intent,” and is not a signal of future Corvette design language but rather a “futuristic and exploratory design exercise only, intended to push the envelope of design and technology.”

In my mind, an all-electric Corvette is all but inevitable. As GM’s president Mark Reuss stated back in 2022, the electrification of this American icon is “a priority.” Reuss didn’t say whether it will be a variant of the gasoline model or a completely new design standing on its own, but it will happen. And this design is the first spark.

Symbol of America’s golden age

Ford and Dodge already made the transition to fully electric models in 2019 and 2024 respectively. But, while the Mustang and the Charger are icons in their own right, none of them carry the power of the Corvette as a symbol of America’s industrial might. You can easily argue that the Corvette reached peak car status in pop culture like no other car ever created in the U.S. If America was ever “great,” the Corvette represented that greatness like no other.

Like most American celebrated inventions, the Corvette was born as an experiment. The genesis of the Chevrolet Corvette lay in the vision of Harley Earl, the head of GM’s Styling Section, who aimed to create an American sports car to rival the growing popularity of the glamorous European models by Ferrari, Jaguar, and Masserati, which appeared after World War II. Dubbed Project Opel, the initial concept debuted at the 1953 GM Motorama fair, showcasing a revolutionary fiberglass body. The material—which was completely new at the time—offered lightness and a unique aesthetic compared to the typical steel bodies. The design was influenced by U.S. fighter jets and the sleek lines of European sports cars like the Jaguar XK120. While the early six-cylinder models didn’t immediately match the performance of their European counterparts, the Corvette’s striking design and “dream car” appeal quickly captured the public’s imagination.

It was not until 1955, with the arrival of its rumbling V8 engine, that the Corvette found its literal and figurative voice. Then in 1963, it cemented its place as the most desired car in America with the C2 Stingray. This marked a pivotal moment in its design evolution. While the overall direction was under legendary American car designer Bill Mitchell, the stunning and instantly recognizable design comes from designer Larry Shinoda, a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Japan. He translated Mitchell’s Stingray racer concept into a new era for the Corvette.

Working within Mitchell’s Studio X special projects group, Shinoda was instrumental in shaping the sleek new appearance of the C2. Its rear split-window coupe, though only produced for a single year, became an instant icon on its own right, symbolizing the bold and innovative spirit of American design during the time NASA took humans to the moon. Compared to other cars of the era, the Stingray offered a unique blend of American muscle and sophisticated futuristic styling that set it apart from both European sports cars and traditional American automobiles. The Corvette became synonymous with the American automotive industry. It represented American industrial prowess, showcasing the country’s ability to produce high-performance machines that could compete on a global stage.

It was at this time when the car turned into a towering cultural icon of the Space Age era. It wasn’t only about its sci-fi looks, but also about who was driving it. Starting with Alan Shepard, the first American in space, many Mercury 7 astronauts and those who followed were offered the opportunity to lease Corvettes for a nominal fee. Each crew of the Apollo missions—including Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins—had matching Corvettes, which they used to get around Houston and on the roads near Cape Canaveral. This association forged an indelible link between the Corvette and the image of American innovation, speed, and pushing the boundaries of what was possible. The Corvette became a symbol of the nation’s technological ambition, mirroring the achievements of the space program.

The C3 generation—built from 1968 to 1982—became an even stronger visual icon. Often referred to as the “Shark” due to its curvy design, heavily influenced by the Mako Shark II concept car created by Shinoda under Mitchell’s direction, it continued the Corvette’s dramatic styling. It had a long, low profile, a curvy Coca-Cola bottle shape, bulging fenders, and pop-up headlights. 

Reinventing an icon

All this to say that it is a strange feeling to see a new electric Corvette prototype coming from GM’s U.K. Advanced Design Studio. Even more so when you consider how much closer it was to Mitchell and Shinoda’s sensibilities than the current Corvette. The team took the 1963 Stingray’s split rear window and made it the central element of the design, turning it around and splitting the windshield in a concept they call Apex Vision. The singular vertical central spine is not just for looks; it is a structural element, according to Julian Thomson, who leads the design studio.

The British prototype is actually a “hypercar” with 22-inch front and 23-inch rear tires, a car that can run on the road and on the racing track. At 15.1 feet long, 6.9 feet wide, and a height of 3.4 feet—lower, wider, and longer than the current C8—the design has two distinct parts. The upper section presents classic Corvette elements in a futuristic style, like Apex Vision, while the lower half focuses on functional technical design.

That includes embedded EV battery technology and aerodynamic elements designed to channel air efficiently without traditional wings or spoilers. Instead, the prototype uses active ducts that redirect airflow depending on the driving mode. On a regular road, they optimize range by channeling air under the chassis; on a race track, they deploy aerodynamic surfaces that increase grip.

The bodywork is made using additive manufacturing, its creators say, also known as 3D printing, to reduce weight and assemblies. The concept also incorporates aviation-inspired elements in its sculptural forms and functional aspects, along with full wrap-around side glass and powered gull wing doors.

All of that makes the electric Corvette a very attractive design. It feels ready to run the 24 hours of LeMans. There have been positive reactions in the press, but met with mixed reactions from fans. Whether purists will accept a Corvette without the roar of a V8 engine is anyone’s guess.

The rise of the all-electric muscle car

Its direct competitors have had mixed results in the market. Sales of the Dodge Charger Daytona EV have not been good, with only 2,115 units sold in the first quarter of 2025. On the other hand, the Ford Mustang Mach-e has had a great start of the year, becoming one of the best selling EVs in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 22,550 units (an 11% increase over the previous quarter). GM already markets the Corvette E-Ray, a hybrid variant, which only sold 1,447 units in its first year. It’s not a promising sign. But then again, the E-Ray is not a very attractive car. It feels blah.

Michael Simcoe, senior VP of global design at GM, says that the U.K.-designed concept is part of a global initiative where multiple studios were tasked with developing hypercar concepts that pay homage to Corvette’s heritage while showcasing unique creative interpretations. The concepts will appear through 2025, perhaps a strategy to whet the fans for an all-electric model. But it’s likely that, at one point in the very near future, the company is getting ready to drop that roaring combustion engine.

While the current Corvette doesn’t have the same design magnetism and pop culture symbolism as the ones from the ’60s and ’70s, it still carries the torch of a time long gone, a heavy heritage that nobody can ignore. The moment the gas roaring turns into a silent buzz of electricity, it will truly be the end of an era for a whole industry and the entire country.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, perhaps everyone in the U.S. should be hoping that its most iconic car can successfully turn into the icon of a new era for the country. Looking at the electric supercar tsunami coming from China, I’m not so hopeful for its future. But this concept car gives me some hope that they may pull it off.