There's an auto show going on in Seoul this week, and this roadster concept was General Motors' big debut there. The Chevrolet Mi-ray is meant take inspiration from cars like the '62 Monza and '63 Corvair Super Spyder (which are top of mind for Americans and Koreans alike, no?) while looking ahead to the future (Mi-ray is a translation of "future" in Korean).
Dimensionally, though, this rear-drive hybrid convertible concept smells a bit like the doomed Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky to us (it has nearly the same overall length at 157 inches and just a slightly shorter 93.5-inch wheelbase). And because the Mi-ray is a whimsical hybrid concept, designers could just give up altogether on trying to package a hard-to-fold top. But, really, we can't call the Mi-ray a hybrid Solstice, because it's said to have an aluminum chasis and body panels are carbon fiber and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic.
It's not even quite accurate to call the Mi-ray rear-drive, though its turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine does drive the rear wheels via a dual-clutch transmission. In city traffic, though, a pair of front-mounted, 15kW electric motors drive the front wheels. They're powered by a mid-mounted 1.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
Claimed fuel economy could be as much as 60 mpg in the city, 63 mpg on the highway.
And as jaded as we are about any convertible that looks remotely like the Solstice, we like the direction GM seems to be taking here -- fuel economy when you need it, and god-honest performance when you want it.
windsor5 says:
11:03 AM, 03/31/11
They don't have the balls to build it unlike a bavarian company we know of......
jederino says:
01:37 PM, 03/31/11
I like it, just like I liked the Soltice and Sky. They just needed a little more development to challenge the competition. Nice concept.
hollowtek says:
03:09 PM, 03/31/11
barf...
throwback says:
06:46 AM, 04/ 1/11
If this is a styling excercise, is this the face of the next Camaro or Vette? I don't see the powertrain making production unless the eletric motors are driving the rear wheels in a FWD platform.