[Oakwood]

A Corvette E-Ray prototype burned to the ground while hot weather testing in Spain. The fire started due to an oil leak that ignited the hybrid's battery pack.

The results are not pretty.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/07/corvette-e-ray-prototype-burns-to-the-ground-in-spain/

It appears as though this recent visit to Spain went a bit awry, as the charred remains of a Corvette E-Ray prototype allegedly caught fire during testing by supplier Bosch. From what we’ve been told, the fire started in the prototype’s engine bay following an oil leak, leading to a runaway blaze that eventually ignited the hybrid sports car’s battery pack, as well. Photos and video of the fire’s aftermath show a pile of burnt Corvette components sitting on the side of the road in the southern European country. It’s safe to say that this prototype was rendered a total loss after the blaze.

“A Corvette development vehicle undergoing extreme testing by one of our suppliers this week had a thermal incident. All who were involved are safe as this is our top priority. We are investigating the situation with the supplier,” Chevy spokesperson, Trevor Thompkins, explained to GM Authority. “The car was a testing mule with a setup that’s not indicative of what an actual customer would receive,” he added.

 

[Nebula1701]

I believe GM already said no HV Electronics were in this vehicle and I also speculated it's actually the Euro Spec Z06.
I think the media jumped the gun on this one.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

I believe GM already said no HV Electronics were in this vehicle and I also speculated it's actually the Euro Spec Z06.
I think the media jumped the gun on this one.

You might be right, looking at the fire video, the burned out engine looks to have the Cats attached directly to the headers, which is how the LT6 is, but LT2 in the E-Ray has a different setup. It's really hard to tell in the burned out hulk, but any pictures around the front axle, or better pics of the burned out engine would be helpful. Wheels don't match any of the prototypes, so I am 50-50. There is no telling what could have caused this, but being a test vehicle, I am sure GM got some data. The smoke from the fire also does not look like lithium battery smoke, but just typical composite body and interior smoke.

 

[JimsH3]

You might be right, looking at the fire video, the burned out engine looks to have the Cats attached directly to the headers, which is how the LT6 is, but LT2 in the E-Ray has a different setup. It's really hard to tell in the burned out hulk, but any pictures around the front axle, or better pics of the burned out engine would be helpful. Wheels don't match any of the prototypes, so I am 50-50. There is no telling what could have caused this, but being a test vehicle, I am sure GM got some data. The smoke from the fire also does not look like lithium battery smoke, but just typical composite body and interior smoke.

It seems to be that way. GM says it was a ICE C8 that had a bunch of diagnostics equipment and "other components that would not be found in a production model"

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/08/burnt-down-c8-corvette-in-spain-wasnt-an-e-ray-gm-says/

Chevrolet spokesperson, Trevor Thompkins, reached out to GM Authority shortly after our article was published to correct the record on some of the rumors that were circulating about the fire. Thompkins says the prototype that burnt down did not have any electrified components in it and is instead a pure internal combustion engine vehicle. Additionally, the automaker notes the test mule is not in a configuration that customers would receive, as it’s equipped with various diagnostics equipment and other components that would not be found in a production model, so this unfortunate situation is not indicative of the Corvette’s fire safety.

Lastly, GM notes the safety of the engineers who were driving the vehicle at the time of the fire is its top priority here and that it is investigating the situation to better understand how this happened. It was originally reported that a pair of Bosch engineers were in the vehicle when it caught fire and were conducting tests on behalf of the OEM in southern Europe.