Meet Merlin McCormack, the leading head in this generation of car dealers, who founded West London’s hub Duke of London in 2015 and has been speeding ahead ever since. As the son of famed restorer Lance McCormack, both classic and supercars are in his blood, which is why we linked up with Merlin McCormack to talk about Chevrolet's latest supercar, the Corvette E-Ray.
“I’ve been fortunate to drive every iteration of the Corvette throughout the years and this C8 is mind blowing.” McCormack told us when we asked him about the new right-hand-drive Corvette E-Ray. As the first-ever hybrid, all-wheel-drive Corvette, it packs a serious electric punch. Designed with versatility and power both in mind, the Corvette E-Ray has a key feature that allows you to tune the mid-engine chassis to your exact preferences. From steering feel and Magnetic Ride suspension to brake response and engine sound, the E-Ray is personalisable in a way that makes it fit like a glove. “It’s the first mid-engine car I’ve had a go in and I’m very impressed.” Merlin McCormack explained.
With an electrically powered front axle, the Corvette E-Ray is ideal for varied terrains. Its Z Mode option also allows you to tailor various performance settings to your preference, depending on where you are, what the roads are like, and what kind of drive you’re feeling right then and there. “There’s nothing more I’d like to do than to hop in it and head down to the south of France.”
Having founded Duke of London, the family-run classic and supercar hub in West London back in 2015, you can trust McCormack knows his cars. “I never sat down and planned to do what we do at Duke of London. It’s just grown really organically over the years. I’ve grown up around the industry, and so a career in it was sort of inevitable.”
Now, Duke of London is about more than cars, though; it’s about giving back to the community. As Merlin McCormack told us, “we wanted to create somewhere with Duke of London that people could really take ownership of themselves, and to build a community of people from all walks of life and all backgrounds. Once a month on a Sunday we host a car meet for charity, which we call “Classics & Cake”. We’ve been hosting that for around ten years, and it’s great to see the mix of the crowd that turns up.”
At Duke of London, Merlin describes how, “it [doesn’t] matter what car you had, or if you even had a car at all, we just wanted somewhere where people in West London could come and be a part of.” But the Corvette’s been running in the McCormack family for generations. “My mum actually used to daily drive a 1963 C2 Roadster Corvette, and when I was about 11 she taught me to drive manual in it.”
While Corvette’s always been in the McCormack family, the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is a gamechanger. Pairing a traditional V8 engine with an electric motor on the front axle for combined 643 horsepower, and an ability to go from 0 to 100 km/h in a mere 2.9 seconds, you’ve never seen a car like this.
Hit up Corvette’s website to find out more about the Corvette E-Ray now.
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