Friday 26th October 2012

New 'vette V8

Small Block gets new tech to make 450hp

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With performance icons left right and centre succumbing to turbocharging, downsizing and all-round CO2 acceptability, it's good to know there's one constant. Yup, Chevrolet has revealed that the new Corvette due the end of next year will be powered by a 6.2-litre, naturally aspirated V8.

This is the C7 that may or may not borrow some of the stealthy features of the 2009 Stingray concept – we'll know for sure when it's revealed at the Detroit motor show in early January.

C7 could take cues from 2009 concept

The engine is dubbed LT1 and "represents the most significant redesign in the Small Block's nearly 60-year history" according to Chevrolet. So yes, essentially the same powerplant but now making an "estimated" 450hp instead of 430 in base form and a matching torque figure of 450lb ft.

That'll mean even the entry car will, it's claimed, accelerate to 62mph in under four seconds. So what they're saying is that it'll match the drag times of today's 205mph ZR1, which is pretty impressive for a car that'll cost around $50,000 in the States (£31,000).

New tech on the engine includes direct injection and variable valve timing, as well as active fuel management, which shuts down cylinders under light loads.

Base car almost as quick as today's ZR1

This allows Chevy to say this is the most fuel-efficient Corvette ever "exceeding" 26mpg (31 UK).

The Corvette has been using a version of this engine right back to 1955, two years after the car was first launched with less-than-muscly straight six. Back then the 4.3-litre V8 made just 195hp.

To dispel any talk that this engine can't cut it with more modern stuff, Chevy says the new unit is 18kg lighter than "a competitor's twin-turbo 4.4L, DOHC V8 with similar output". We're breaking the terms of a superinjunction here, but we can reveal they're talking about BMW. It all means the all-American V8 isn't dead yet, not by a long chalk.

[lewisf182]

£31,000!!! that is just unbeleivable value... Really wish they'd make it available in RHD and ship some to the UK, even if the price tag was more than £30k I think they would still sell reasonably well with the golf R being £40k and other manufacturers going the same way.

[V8 FOU]

Excellent!
Better than a BMW V8? With pushrods? Yee-Ha!

This will do very nicely thank you.

[Gizmoish]

I've never driven a car with an LS engine, but just on the numbers I love them. Turbos, nah. Just lots of lovely cubes and very big boots

[anything fast]

lewisf182 said:

£31,000!!! that is just unbeleivable value... Really wish they'd make it available in RHD and ship some to the UK, even if the price tag was more than £30k I think they would still sell reasonably well with the golf R being £40k and other manufacturers going the same way.

even if RHD they would be more like £50,000 to £60,000 by the time they import them in.

[Gizmoish]

anything fast said:

lewisf182 said:

£31,000!!! that is just unbeleivable value... Really wish they'd make it available in RHD and ship some to the UK, even if the price tag was more than £30k I think they would still sell reasonably well with the golf R being £40k and other manufacturers going the same way.

even if RHD they would be more like £50,000 to £60,000 by the time they import them in.

Which compares very interestingly with an M3 or RS4 at £50k, especially as those two are going forced-induction.

[GranCab]

I don't think they mean the M5/M6 version of BMW's 4.4l V8 ...


S63B44TU

4,395 cc (268 cu in)

560 PS (410 kW; 550 hp)@5750-7000

680 N·m (500 lb·ft)@1500-5750

7,200 max rpm

[E38Ross]

GranCab said:

I don't think they mean the M5/M6 version of BMW's 4.4l V8 ...


S63B44TU

4,395 cc (268 cu in)

560 PS (410 kW; 550 hp)@5750-7000

680 N·m (500 lb·ft)@1500-5750

7,200 max rpm

My thoughts exactly. All this new tech though sounds interesting. Swear I've heard it over the last decade or more though before

Sounds like a good engine though but hardly a breakthrough. Neither the torque or power figures are particularly impressive for 6.2L. I'm sure it'll sound glorious though.

[Prawnboy]

thats one chilli dog of an engine......lets see how ugly the the next gen car is though.


still want one.

[Motorrad]

E38Ross said:

My thoughts exactly. All this new tech though sounds interesting. Swear I've heard it over the last decade or more though before

Sounds like a good engine though but hardly a breakthrough. Neither the torque or power figures are particularly impressive for 6.2L. I'm sure it'll sound glorious though.

It's under-stressed. It will do 0-60 in under 4 seconds, return 31mpg and will cost buttons to tax in the UK if you import one yourself.

Also it's not likely to go bang unlike say a 335i..........

[Pierscoe1]

news article announcing use of a proper engine in a new sportscar instead of "we've managed to get the same power as last year's engine from a 0.3l hairdryer with 3 tiny turbos"... EXCELLENT!

[Bill Carr]

Want. That is all.

[RichardD]

Article said:

That'll mean even the entry car will, it's claimed, accelerate to 62mph in under four seconds. So what they're saying is that it'll match the drag times of today's 205mph ZR1...

A bit of getting carried away in the article here - a modern Corvette ZR1 is 638bhp, so this isn't going to happen!

[The Obeast]

regarding the C7 itll have to look really good to stop me drooling over the C6 zr1. I'm no american car fanboy, but the C6 ZR1 is one of my favourite looking cars of all time.

[BarbaricAvatar]

I'm sure they did the 26mpg at idle rolling down a hill 5 or 6 times.

[Raitzi]

If they had electronic valve actuators they could individually depressurize cylinders that are not been injected with fuel. They could also have both systems and just to have a one extra valve per cylinder for this.

[Cactussed]

These are still pushrod, 2 valves per cylinder, right?

[RichardD]

BarbaricAvatar said:

I'm sure they did the 26mpg at idle rolling down a hill 5 or 6 times.

A PH'er has reported 40mpg from a 7.0 Corvette. (An engine which should be less efficient than this one).

[E38Ross]

RichardD said:

BarbaricAvatar said:

I'm sure they did the 26mpg at idle rolling down a hill 5 or 6 times.

A PH'er has reported 40mpg from a 7.0 Corvette. (An engine which should be less efficient than this one).

I've had infinite mpg from my car and that's not a lie

[vetteheadracer]

BarbaricAvatar said:

I'm sure they did the 26mpg at idle rolling down a hill 5 or 6 times.

Nope.

In real world driving i.e. I was driving my old 2008 Z06 with the 7.0L V8 returned the equivalent of 33MPG when driving from Houston to Baltimore.

This new engine is lighter, smaller and can therefore be mounted over an inch lower in the car giving a lower centre of gravity.

The fuel consumption should be about 28/29 MPG which when compared with a Ferrari 458 / Porsche 911 which are after all the market they are aiming at pretty impressive.

The other major improvement of direct injection is acceleration as pickup is a lot faster and will help improve the C7R which will run it's debut race at Sebring in 2014 or possibly Daytona 2014.

[chris116]

GranCab said:

I don't think they mean the M5/M6 version of BMW's 4.4l V8 ...


S63B44TU

4,395 cc (268 cu in)

560 PS (410 kW; 550 hp)@5750-7000

680 N·m (500 lb·ft)@1500-5750

7,200 max rpm

N63 is the comparison surely?

N63B44
4,395 cc (268 cu in)
408 PS (300 kW; 402 hp)@5500-6400
600 N·m (440 lb·ft)@1750-4500
7000 max rpm

Would prefer na over turbos myself.