Hybrids come in many flavors, and for the Miray, that flavor is an open-topped roadster with a turbocharged gasoline engine powering the rear wheels, and electric motors pushing the fronts.
Chevrolet says that the Miray is a tribute to the brand’s centennial this year, and that this good looking eco-friendly car found its inspiration from some of the great Chevrolets of the past, like the 1962 Corvair Super Spyder and the 1963 Monza SS.
One of the key attributes that makes the Miray (which translates to “future” in Korean) unique is what Chevy is dubbing a mid-electric platform, which locates the powertrain in an ideal location behind and below the occupants for optimal weight distribution for handling purposes. For optimal efficiency GM says that a pair of 15-kW electric motors typically drive the front wheels, which draw their power from a 1.6-kW-hour lithium-ion battery which can be recharged from regenerative braking, just like a standard road-going hybrid.
But Chevy wasn’t about to call it a day with just a pair of electric motors to try and match the aggressive design of the concept car, instead, Chevy opted to add a 1.5-liter four cylinder engine that is force fed a healthy doze of air from a turbocharger, and is mated to a dual-clutch transmission for improved fuel economy and faster gear changes.
Of course not all performance comes from powerplants – weight savings are also a key source of overall vehicle performance, which was not forgotten in the design of the Miray. Chevy utilized copious amounts of carbon fiber in order to construct the body panels of the Miray, helping to keep the weight down, and the performance up. Rounding out the weight savings is an all aluminum chassis.
Occupants of the Miray will enjoy a very aircraft cockpit-like design, with deep seats and an enveloping blend of dash and door panels.
Despite all of the eco-minded gadgetry and salesmanship, Chevrolet has not released any performance or fuel economy figures.
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