As implied by its name, this is the most powerful DBS yet, with 770 horsepower produced by its 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 (that's 45 hp up from the standard car), and it is also the final version of the DBS line. Some 499 cars will be built, splitting between 300 Coupes and 199 Volantes, then the DBS will be history.

The extra power comes from 7 percent increase of turbo boost pressure as well as light modifications to breathing and ignition. Max. torque remains unchanged at 664 lbft / 1800-5000 rpm, as it is also the torque capacity of its ZF 8-speed transaxle. Strangely, despite the extra horsepower and unchanged weight (still 1770 kg), all performance figures are unchanged from the lesser DBS, i.e. 211 mph top speed and 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. The maths just don't add up.



The Ultimate edition gets some cosmetic enhancement though to justify its elevated price of £314,000. The new bonnet features a horse-shoe shape outlet and a pair of vents right on the top of front fenders. The outboard intakes at either side of the front grille get slightly larger. There are also a new wheel design.

Underneath the skin, the adaptive dampers have been recalibrated for tighter control. The steering column is now rigidly mounted to give better feedback. The front chassis is stiffened by an extra cross brace, while the rear is reinforced slightly by a thicker undertray. None of these are radical upgrades, but they should make the DBS even more memorable.

Another variant of Chevrolet Corvette. Called "E-Ray", it is basically an electrified Corvette Stingray, also the first ever hybrid-powered Corvette.

The E-Ray keeps the standard car's LT2 push-rod V8 engine intact, still producing 495 horsepower and 470 lbft of torque and driving the rear axle through a Tremec twin-clutch gearbox. It adds a small electric motor at the front axle, which drives the front wheels through an open differential, with brake-based torque vectoring taking care of over/under-steer and wheelspin. This motor offers 160 hp and 125 lbft of torque. Working together with the V8 at full throttle, the combined output is therefore 655 hp and 595 lbft. This allows the E-Ray to sprint from 0-60 mph in an estimated 2.5 seconds, or a tenth quicker than Z06, the fastest Corvette variant to date. The Z06 is slightly more powerful at 670 hp, but its 5.5-liter short-stroke V8 is far less torquey than the E-Ray's hybrid powertrain. In addition to the help of all-wheel traction, this explains why the E-Ray is quicker in standing start, even though it carries 260-300 pounds (depending on which source you heard from) more than the Z06. However, since the electric motor has no gearbox, it has to be disconnected above 150 mph. This means the E-Ray's top speed is actually lower than the standard Stingray, at an estimated 180 mph.

If you think the E-Ray must be greener to run than other Vettes, you will be disappointed. GM said its fuel economy rating will be about the same as the Stingray. That is because it uses a smallish lithium-ion battery with capacity of just 1.9 kWh gross or 1.1 kWh net. For reference, both Ferrari 296 and McLaren Artura employ a 7.4 kWh battery. Not only it has no plug-in charging function, the zero emission range is barely 3-4 miles, and the engine will fire up once above 45 mph.

On the plus side, Chevy is able to fit this smallish battery into the wide transmission tunnel without any structural modifications - partly this is because the C8 was designed with hybrid in mind from the outset. By using open differential and magnesium casing for the front drive unit, it can also keep weight gain to the minimum. That said, with a kerb weight estimated at around 1800 kg, the E-Ray is certainly no lightweight. The outgoing Honda NSX is slightly lighter at 1770 kg, let alone exotics from McLaren and Ferrari.

Moreover, the E-Ray's single front motor setup lacks the benefit of electric torque vectoring, unlike the NSX which employs 2 front motors and a rear motor. Meanwhile, unlike the rear-motor Ferrari and McLaren, it has no connection between engine and electric power. This could present more problems in handling. As you can imagine, feeding more elecric power will shift the balance forward, which is not necessarily what the driver wants. Taking bumps and slippage in individual wheels into equation and the handling could be even more challenging. Until now, only less performance-oriented PHEVs like Volvo / Polestar or Peugeot / DS / Citroen would opt for the same hybrid layout as the E-Ray.

The rest of the car is largely based on the Z06, sharing the latter's wider body to accommodate the same oversized tires - Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, 275/30ZR20 front and 345/25ZR21 rear, although they are all-season instead of summer rubbers by default. Magnetic Ride Control dampers is standard, ditto carbon-ceramic brakes and a lithium-ion 12V battery. All these make its $104,000 starting price looks a relative bargain beside the $111,000 Z06. However, they have different personalities and target customers. The Z06 is meant to be the equivalent of Porsche 911 GT3, while E-Ray is more like a 911 Turbo. In other words, not the quickest on track, but more usable on road, hence a very fast grand tourer. Whether it works as good as the Porsche in the real world remains to be seen.